Tungsten Cross
by Ominous-Insanity
Summary: Years in the future, humans have discovered the latent Spiritual Gifts inside them, and have managed to harness them for social uses. However, Amos was left behind, unable to develop his for unknown reasons. Yet, he finds himself upon quest when he gains a Gift that could get him kill him, only armed with cross pendant forged of tungsten.
1. Chapter 1

My first submission, and the first chapter to the first novel I ever wrote. Please read and enjoy.

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Chapter I

Imagine a future where everyone has powers. Now when I say powers, I'm not talking about fire-breathing or super strength. These powers are very real. In fact, they exist in your time, just not many people are aware of them. Perhaps "powers" isn't the right word; a better word would be gifts. Spiritual gifts endowed by the Holy Ghost to be one hundred percent accurate. The story starts in the year 2239, about a century before I was born. Science has finally admitted defeat and has acknowledged that the True and Almighty God exists. The world went through some radical changes after that. First, Christianity swept through nations and quickly became the singular religion. That did not mean a perfect world, however. Each denomination claimed they were the correct one and the "Holy Wars" followed. These wars caused mass destruction and different denominations set borders forming new countries. Yet, God brought good out of these wars. Understanding about spiritual gifts became common knowledge, and everyone soon began to develop and discover their own. Every gift described by Paul and many others in the Bible became recorded, from amazing Gift of Healing to the jealousy-inducing Gift of Wisdom. One late October night in the year 2356, I knelt at the foot of my bed, hands in the prayer position. Fresh tears streamed down my face every second. "God, are you out there? Don't you love me? Am I not your child?" I shouted in pure desperation with eyes shut tighter than a treasure chest. My issue was that even at age 17, I still didn't have a spiritual gift. I begged and pleaded with Jesus to show me some proof that my life wasn't hopeless. Furthermore, the tears wouldn't stop flowing. The sound of my bedroom door creaking and the smell of motor oil distracted me from my prayer.

"Amos, are you alright?" my Uncle Saul asked, peeking his head inside. He was on the shorter side as well as round. Uncle Saul was bald, but had a neatly trimmed beard. He had deep wrinkles in his forehead despite being only in his late forties. He had a sharp nose, like mine, and thin lips along with bushy eyebrows and intimidating deep blue eyes. Seeing his face sent memories flowing through my mind, reawakening old pains. About nine years ago my parents had been killed. Why or how was never made known to my sister, Ruth, or I. Neither of us had many memories of them, though doctors said I suppressed them due to emotional trauma.

Ruth had always been the lucky one, even though she was two years younger. She had developed the Gift of Prophecy at age two, and gave some great prophetic words at age six about how "a native born of New Canaan with a Gift of Mercy shall be a guide to the end of the line of the King." Well, when that had been reported to the King of New Canaan, my own home country, my sister had been sent to the House of Prophets. The ironic thing is that the Gift of Prophecy runs in the family. Uncle Saul, despite choosing to be a mechanic, and my father both had it. I alone was left with nothing special about me.

"Get out!" I screeched an octave higher than I'd be willing to admit to. Despite my demand, Uncle Saul ignored me and sat on my bed.

"I don't know what you're in such distress about, but if this about you having no gift, let me tell you something. When I was asked to take care of you and your sister, I prayed about it and you know what? God gave me a vision of you in the future developing your gift and following a wonderful plan He laid out for you. Trust me, soon something amazing will happen," Uncle Saul explained. It didn't make me feel much better, mostly because I had heard it several times, but I calmed myself down.

"Thanks Uncle Saul, that helped a lot," I managed through a fake smile and watery eyes.

"No problem, Amos. Just be sure not to forget your parents' gift," my uncle signaled to my necklace before leaving. I pulled off my necklace and stared at it as it lay in the palm of my hand. It was made of tungsten metal in the shape of a cross, and was about two inches tall and half an inch thick. It hung on a metal chain and was the one thing I had remaining from my parents. Without much warning, I began to muse over the memory of when I received the necklace:

* * *

_My mother handed me the necklace as I tried to make out her face. It was mostly indistinguishable, except her inky black hair that matched mine._

_"Take this. After today, you'll need more. Or at least, that's what your father said," she said giving me a smile and kissing me on the head._

_"What do you mean? Where are you going Mommy?" I asked in the innocent voice of a nine year old._

_"Hopefully nowhere soon," my mother smiled again before ruffling my hair._

_That had all been the day before she and my father had died. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and I burst out crying again._

_"God, it's not fair! Jesus, can you hear me? Why can't I be happy?" I wailed like the child in the memory._

* * *

Suddenly something came over me. It felt ancient and powerful, but at the same time more comforting than any blanket.

_Hebrews 4:12._ The presence seemed to say. It wasn't in my head, nor was it out loud. The message came from all the way down in my heart. Instinct told me it had been the Holy Ghost. After slipping my necklace on, I moved over to my desk to retrieve my Bible. I flipped through as fast as I could until I had located the verse.

"For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints, and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart," I read silently. Half expecting something to happen, I stood there for a moment, but was sorely disappointed when the only thing that happened was that my cross felt a little warmer against my chest.

"Is that it? You speak to me, and nothing happens. Fine, if you don't want to help me!" I shouted toward the ceiling, hoping God heard all my anger and pain. Retreating to bed, I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning, something felt different. I couldn't place it, but it felt like something was stirring in my heart. Ignoring it, I wandered to the bathroom to prepare for the day. I did my best to comb my hair, which was never a successful task despite it being straight. My own green eyes stared back at me in the mirror, rimmed with red from the previous night. Finally, I left the bathroom and got dressed. While my school, Galilee Private School, didn't have an official school uniform, you were expected to dress your best. I personally hated dressing up, so I also just slid by as far as the dress code was concerned. I pulled on a pair of khaki dress pants and an emerald green T-shirt, over which I pulled a black fleece. Looking in the mirror, I figured I looked nice enough, though most people would argue I didn't match. Not that I actually cared. I headed for the kitchen and was greeted by the sight of Ruth pulling waffles out of the toaster. Ruth was significantly shorter than me, with long straight black hair that reached past her shoulders and intense green eyes to match mine. In other words, it was no mystery she was my sister.

"Oh, hey Amos!" she grinned. Once every three months students at the House of Prophets got a week break from their studies to visit family.

"Oh, your break is this week," I mumbled, doing my best to make my tone sound irritated. My sister stuck out her tongue like she didn't care, but for some reason I picked up a vibe of genuine hurt, which wasn't something I'd expected. Suddenly, I saw an image. It wasn't like a vision, or hallucination, but more like a memory. There was a silhouette of Ruth, except instead of her image being black, multiple bright colors swirled around inside, not unlike a lava lamp. However, every now and then a dark spot was blocking out the colors, turning the sections black. They seemed painful, and evil.

"Yes, that is this week," Ruth groaned, sitting down at the table to enjoy her breakfast.

"Are you alright?" I asked as I prepared myself breakfast.

"No. Nothing. Why?" Ruth responded, though the image showed differently. One of the dark spots seemed to flutter and evaporate slightly.

"No reason," I shrugged, beginning on my own breakfast. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of looking at the clock as I took my first bite of cereal.

"Aren't you going to be late?" Ruth asked. I almost cursed as I shoved the bowl of cereal toward my sister.

"Yeah. Finish this for me will you?" I said before dashing out the door.

"No," I heard Ruth whine as the front door slammed shut behind me. My family lived in a small town far away from Jericho, the capitol of New Canaan, called Sodom. Everything was relatively close. Next to nobody owned a levia, a sort of hovercraft, and everyone pretty much walked anywhere they needed to go. It made me question how Uncle Saul made a living. Either way, the main thing that was on my mind was the weird image I had seen as I jogged to school. It had almost been like I had been sensitive to my sister's heart. However, as soon as I had her out of sight, the image had vanished. While trying to determine what it had been, I nearly ran over my friend Lydia.

"Whoa there. Be careful," Lydia giggled. She had an almost auburn hair color, which was about shoulder length and the hair bordering her face curled into coils. Despite a seemingly pale complexion, Lydia had a love of warm weather. That was why I was shocked at her clothing choice for that chilly morning. Lydia had on a frilly white skirt and pink blouse, with a white fur vest that was hopefully fake wrapped around her. In addition to her full lips and light blue eyes, she gave off an impression to match her normal hyperactive moods. Immediately, an image like the one from earlier flashed into my mind when I realized who it was. This one was of Lydia and instead multiple black spots, a singular large one was located right in her chest. It was slowing growing larger, creeping out tendrils to blot out the other colors.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked. Lydia's expression changed, giving a look of confusion before shifting finally to utter sadness.

"That's a bit creepy, but you are right, something is wrong. You know Tobias?" Lydia surrendered.

"Yeah," I replied slowly. Tobias was a long time friend of mine, and Lydia's boyfriend. In terms of appearance, he was more or less the polar opposite of both of us. For starters, his skin was a few shades darker, like he had a permanent tan. He had an ever-growing mat of curly brown hair that went along with the intensity with which he launched himself into things, all of which somehow complimented his Gift of Wisdom.

"Well, his ex has been causing problems, spreading rumors, that kind of stuff," Lydia sighed. I figured that was causing the darkness, so patted her reassuringly on the shoulder as best I could without being awkward.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'll put you in my prayers," I encouraged. Lydia treated me to a smile that reflected some hope, and in the image the tendrils of darkness retreated a bit. We continued our conversation with a more carefree attitude after that. Upon reaching the school, a shiver went down my back. No matter how many times I was forced to go, the school reminded me more of a prison rather than a place of learning. The main building was a huge cylinder made completely out of marble that glinted with the sunshine clearly visible in the sky on most given days. The top was capped with a dome made of variously colored glass that sent a spectacular design shimmering on the floor of the school lobby. Most of the classrooms were located in two wings that spread out opposite from each other and attached to the main building.

"Ready for another day?" Lydia challenged, giving me a mischievous smile.

"Sure. But first I'm going to go see the guidance counselor."

"Well, best of luck then," she said. The words seemed to soothe me, as might be expected from someone with the Gift of Exhortation. I waved good bye as I rushed up the steps of the school and toward the main office. I wanted to see the counselor was because it was their job to help students with spiritual gifts. After both my experiences that morning, I needed some help. First knocking, I entered the counselor's office, but it was empty. I waited a few minutes, and finally Mr. Lot walked in. He was laughing, but when he saw me, it dropped into a groan. Mr. Lot was an extremely tall man, with leathery skin, rough big hands, and coarse black hair. He had a thick mustache that mostly covered his mouth.

"You again." I'd been in his office several times, begging to let me take the Spiritual Gift Determination Exam, or the SGDE.

"I'd like to take the SGDE," I requested politely. Mr. Lot groaned again and sat in his swivel chair, spinning to face his computer.

"Like I said before, you have to show evidence of your gift before you can, which you have yet to do," he explained as he pulled up a game of Solitaire on his computer.

"You don't understand. I have," I countered. Mr. Lot spun around in his chair to face me, a deep scowl of disbelief on his face, but motioned for me to continue. I explained about the images I had received of Ruth and Lydia and described them in detail. After I had finished, Mr. Lot just stared at me for a short time.

"Very well. You can take the test, but I pray you don't get the results I'm suspecting," Mr. Lot said finally. I didn't understand what he meant, but was more than happy when he handed me the test. He warned it took about 50 minutes, which was fine by me since that meant I'd be missing my least favorite class. Truth was, it took me far longer. I read each question carefully, and answered each one honestly, all because I was anxious to see if I had really begun to develop my gift. Some of the questions were just general knowledge questions, others more personal, but more that just seemed random.

"Done," I announced at the eve of hour two. Mr. Lot took the test and answer sheet and began to do the calculations. I waited patiently, though my palms grew sweaty as each minute ticked by. A thought that the test would turn up negative results occupied my mind briefly, but was just as quickly dismissed. Finally, Mr. Lot looked at me, his dark brown eyes filled with a mixture of pity and surprise.

"Fortunately, your test turned up positive result. However, it may be better to say unfortunately, because the test has concluded without a doubt you have the Gift of Mercy," Mr. Lot concluded. My mind practically melted at that point. I was so excited that I had a gift. God had indeed blessed me, and it renewed my confidence in the Holy Ghost and in myself. The praying, pain, and tears had all been worth it. However, as I calmed down, reality set in. The King wanted all those with my gift dead. More accurately, he had already made it happen. My heart suddenly felt heavy, and my head clouded with fear.

"I'm in danger, aren't I?" I asked. Mr. Lot nodded gravely.

"Like I said, unfortunately," Mr. Lot said.

"But that's not possible. Both my parents had the Gift of Prophecy, so shouldn't I? It doesn't make sense," I argued.

"I don't know. However, first things first. Do you know what the gift of prophecy entitles?" Mr. Lot asked. I didn't want to seem like I was unknowledgeable, but I had no clue.

"Not exactly," I answered hesitantly. Mr. Lot then pulled out a huge book that was old and musty. He then proceeded to drop it onto my lap.

"Read this for a few minutes," Mr. Lot ordered. I did my best to make out the title, and I figured it said something along the lines of The Complete Guide to Spiritual Gifts. The table of contents provided the way to the section on the Gift of Mercy, and I read this:

_Gift of Mercy_

_Detailed in the Bible at Romans 12:8_

_General Summary: To be sensitive toward those who are suffering, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally, so as to feel genuine sympathy with their misery, speaking words of compassion but more so caring for them with deeds of love to help alleviate their distress; demonstrates abilities such as reading hearts and emotions_

"That's crazy. I can't possibly do that," I said when I had finished reading.

"You already have. Those images, as you call them, are you reading a heart. Now about the whole prophecy issue," Mr. Lot said.

"What do you think?" I asked. He considered it for a moment before continuing.

"At worst, you have a few days. I'd finish school today and pack your bags tonight. Then you leave town tomorrow," he advised. I swallowed nervously before nodding in agreement. I thanked Mr. Lot for his time before rushing off to my classes. Absentmindedly, I took the guide book with me, which would prove to be to my benefit.

However, much to my disadvantage, Mr. Lot's prediction on my safe time was severely off. That very afternoon, during my second to last period history class, the windows suddenly shattered. I was half asleep from boredom, so I was caught off guard when a dozen men burst in. That didn't mean I wasn't able to recognize a division of the Imperial Army. Soldiers in the Imperial Army wore all black jumpsuits with black belts and brackets loaded with various explosives. Over their heads they wore something similar to a biker helmet, except it was all black, including the visor, so everything from face to hair was hidden. The leader of the division was dressed in a white jumpsuit and white helmet, as opposed to those under his command. Anyway, the teacher and all other students went into mass hysteria, and they ended up tripping over one another trying to get away from the invaders. I did my best to blend in, so I wouldn't draw attention to myself. Once everyone had gathered against the opposite wall, and all the screaming had died down to whimpering, the leader removed his helmet. A long pile of blonde hair dropped loose resembling that of a surfer's, but the face did not match the haircut. The man's face was littered with wrinkles, even though he couldn't have been more than fifty. His eyes were so dark they glinted black like polished onyx. He sneered and for a moment I caught sight of his heart. It was covered in black, churning with malice and cruelty. However, a small glimmer of color was present every now and then.

"Please, your attention," the man requested. Our teacher stepped forward timidly.

"Yes?" she responded meekly. She was so pale I was scared she might faint.

"I am Commander Joel of the Imperial Army. We have received details concerning a student in this class of this school with the Gift of Mercy. We have come to arrest him and transport him to Jericho for execution," the man explained.

"There must be a mistake. I can assure you there is no one here with that gift," the teacher tried to argue.

"Very well. If no one will come clean, we'll just kill you all here," Commander Joel sighed. He signaled to his men, who trained various red dots sprouting from their bracelets, on several students. I couldn't just stand by and let all these people be killed, especially since I was among them.

"I'm the one with the gift. Arrest me," I said, boldly stepping forward. I tried to sound brave, but the obvious quiver in my voice gave me away.

"I thought he was an ungifted loser," I heard a couple other students whisper, along with other similar comments. While it hurt, it made me feel a tiny bit of confidence.

"Very well, prove it. Read my heart," Commander Joel challenged. I took a deep breath and it took all my willpower to look into those chaos- colored eyes.

"There is much darkness clogging your heart, anger, bloodlust, among other things. However, there are small pockets of hope," I spoke, but instead of fear in my words, they rang sharp and clear. They didn't feel like mine, which was a bit odd. Commander Joel recoiled with a distasteful sneer.

"This kid is definitely it. We'll take him to Jericho tomorrow. For the time being, we are going to use this school as a base of operation. All you kids and teachers, you are dismissed," Commander Joel announced. Everyone scrambled out of the room except me, having been detained by two soldiers. By the time evening had rolled around, everyone had left except the division and me. I was locked in one of many jail cells found beneath the school, ironically enough. Apparently, the school had actually been a prison at one point. The cell had two bunk beds, an absence of windows, and a small toilet and sink. The walls were grey with dust, and no windows made the room seem to smell even more like mold. The only source of light came from light bulbs in hall outside the cell, which shone through the cell door. The bottom half of the door was a solid metal slate, but the top had bars across it like a traditional cell. Fortunately, they had dumped me in the cell without confiscating anything, including my necklace and backpack. In a matter of minutes after I had been locked in and the soldiers had left, I began to feel myself break down. Tears welled up in my eyes and ran down the side of face. I began to scream and punch and kick the imprisoning walls. Sweat began to form on my body, which made me feel even more disgusting in the moist conditions. Eventually, I calmed down to sniffles and tears. I kneeled on the floor and began to pray. My knuckles were bloody, and I gripped my necklace with such deadly force in my right hand, that my palm began to bleed.

"Father God, why all this? Why would you give me a curse, not a gift? Please, if your plan is for me to die, spare me!" I prayed, screaming with a volume that hurt my vocal cords. Soon, I resorted to screaming gibberish in an effort for salvation. I didn't want to die.

_Hebrews 4:12._ The powerful Voice echoed within my body. It reassured me, though my fear and desperation did not melt away. I prayed the Holy Ghost had spoken to me, and then I struggled to speak normally.

"For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints, and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart," I repeated from memory. Once again, my necklace began to feel warm. I didn't expect anything else to happen, but the cross began to feel hotter and hotter, until it was searing my flesh. I screeched in pain, ripping the necklace off my neck. I tried to throw it out of the room, but the cross pendant stuck to my hand, continuing to sear it.

"Jesus save me!" I begged. There was a bright flash as the necklace began to near molten level, and I adverted my eyes. Strange enough, I felt the cross begin to change and morph. When the light had died down, my hand suddenly felt like it was supporting an immense weight. My hand went slack, and the clang of metal rang out from the floor. I glanced for a moment, afraid but also curious. What had once been my necklace was now a full sized sword.

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Many more chapters to come. Please review, I love reading them. Thank you


	2. Chapter 2

After receiving some reviews, it appears that the first chapter was well received. This makes me super excited, so I hope to get more reviews, readers, and followers. So anyway, enjoy chapter two and as always, review please! Even it's your second, third, or sixty-eigth time!

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Chapter II

The clanging sound echoed through the room and into the hall. I waited a moment to see if the guards would come racing in. However, after a few minutes, nothing happened. I examined my hand and could see where I had been holding my necklace. My skin was red, and a cross pattern had been seared into my skin, though strangely enough the pain from the heat was gone. I retrieved the sword from the floor, and it felt well balanced in my hands. The sword was heavy, much heavier than iron or steel. I figured the double-edged blade that extended about four feet out must be tungsten to match my necklace. The silver-etched, emerald green guard stuck up like the letter V and made a design that reminded me of dragon scales. The long grip was bound in black leather and the butt of the sword was an iron ring with my cross pendant embedded inside.

"Is this what you send for my defense?" I asked the sword.

_Yes_. The ancient Voice once again rumbled through my body, and I felt strength surge into my limbs. With a burst of adrenaline, I swung the sword and drove it into the cell door. The door crumbled like aluminum behind the force of the sword, sending sparks flying. After some more slashing, a large hole had developed in the door, which I took as an exit. I stumbled through the damp and musty halls, trying to navigate out of the school. Every turn was a danger, as the expectance of guards was sharp in my mind. Soon I became careless when none showed. However, when I reached the staircase that led to the main lobby of the school, two guards stood there.

"Halt," the one demanded, but when he noticed the sword in my hands, he shifted his feet back nervously. That action earned him a clonk on the head from his partner.

"You fool. We don't have to be afraid. He has a sword, we have bullets," the other said, and then proceeded to aim a multitude of lasers at me. I lowered my sword, and tried to make myself look fierce, like I was ready to fight. In truth, there was no way I'd be able to fight my way out of there. I'd probably die then, but I figured dying in a fight was better than being executed without a struggle.

"Just let me go. I'm trained and not afraid to kill," I lied, though the quiver in my voice gave me away easily. The second guard laughed a deep hearty chuckle.

"You've got guts kid. I'll give you that. But your generation is too soft, you'd never kill or even harm me. Now get back to your cell, and you won't be harmed," he suggested. However, I stood my ground, even though his observation was correct. I didn't have the guts nor the stomach to kill a bug, much less a human being.

"Maybe we should just let him go," the first guard advised from behind the second guard.

"Are you crazy? Commander Joel would murder us if he escaped," the other retorted, ignoring me to hit his partner again. I took advantage of the distraction and charged.

"God, Jesus, whoever. Please don't let today be the day I die," I begged from under my breath. When the first guard noticed me, he let out a scream and ran up the stairs, effectively disappearing. The second guard turned his attention back on me and let loose a barrage of bullets from his bracelets. Most them missed me or rebounded off my sword, but one of them found a mark in my shin. Pain shot up through my body, and my leg felt like it was going to give out. Black dots danced in front my eyes, forcing me to fight off the urge to pass out. I swung the sword with all my strength, angled so the flat of the blade would strike the guard's helmet. The sword connected with the helmet, and the sound of the helmet visor cracking followed. From behind the cracks, I could see the man's face. An image of his heart registered in my mind. It had the swirling colors, but a bolt of blackness ran from the base of his skull to his feet. I could sense this darkness was pure fear. However, it wasn't of me, but of something worse. I didn't take time to discern the matter as the guard crumbled to his knees. I ran up the stairs and toward the doors leading out of the school. I almost made it when a mass of soldiers assembled in front of the door, cutting off my route. They parted enough for Commander Joel to come walking out, grinning his wicked smile at me.

"I must say, I'm impressed. But not enough to let you live," Commander Joel said.

"Just let me go," I shouted back, trying to sound intimidating, but Commander Joel just laughed.

"Such spirit. I know the King wants to execute you himself, but unfortunately that won't happen. Instead, I get to have the pleasure of doing it. I also see you have a sword," Commander Joel chuckled.

"What of it?" I retorted, my fear becoming mixed with rage. For the first time, I noticed that Commander Joel had a sword on his belt. He drew it, as if he wanted to show it off. It was far thinner than my own sword, and the guard was a circular piece of gold, as was the handle, which was ornamentally decorated.

"Looks like I will get some excitement. This sword is more for decoration, but it'll do a fine job of killing you," Commander Joel explained, before leveling his sword with my chest. I understood in a minute, we would fight man to man, sword against sword. He stepped out to meet me at sword's length. I swung my sword over my head, aiming for his collar bone. I didn't want to kill the man, just disable him. However, he parred with ease so that both our swords vibrated with the force of impact. I tried again, aiming for his legs, but he jumped back to dodge. My sword bounced off the floor, and I lost my grip on it. It skittered a few feet away, just out reach. Suddenly my wounded leg gave out underneath me, and I yelped in pain. I was down on my knees as Commander Joel walked leisurely toward me, swinging his sword in fancy and somehow graceful maneuvers. I made a desperate lunge for my sword just as Commander Joel tried to pierce the floor where I had been kneeling. Swinging my sword backwards, I heard a sickening crack. I turned to look, and was greeted with the sight of Commander Joel curled up on the floor, holding the side of his head. Blood was flowing out, coating the side of his face. It made me sick and I unleashed the little contents that made up my stomach out onto the floor. The flat of the blade must've been what had made contact with his head and the cracking had been his skull.

"Sorry," I tried to apologize, but all I could see was murderous look of Commander Joel. Numerous soldiers rushed forward to help their leader, leaving the door open for me to escape.

"Take your leave now boy, while I'm unable to fight. But mark my words, I will find you and I will kill you myself," Commander Joel vowed. I struggled to my feet and sprinted out the school, dragging my sword behind me. The sight I met outside would torture me for years to come. My hometown was in ruins. Many buildings were in shambles, on fire, or both. Citizens were being guided into large floating levias, each loaded with cannon on perches for gunmen to shoot from. More levias floated in the sky, with soldiers sliding down ropes to reach the ground. All this I took in, and I broke down to cry. I had been arrested and had almost died, but seeing my hometown destroyed and ransacked drove me off the deep end.

"Okay, Amos, get a hold of yourself. You have to get out of here," I lectured to myself, holding myself tight. I rose to my feet and limped off as the pain in my shin flared up. I need a healer, someone with the Gift of Healing, but the only one nearby was being transported elsewhere. My town lay in a valley completely ringed by mountains too high to climb, especially with a bad leg, or even for levias to safely drive over, I groaned when I realized escape meant a journey through the tunnel through the mountain. I hated that tunnel. Perhaps for petty reasons, but hated it none the less. Any time my family had to drive through the tunnel, going to or from Sodom, the stoplight before the tunnel was always red, and we would end up having to wait for like ten minutes. It reminded me of the first time I had come to the town:

* * *

_Uncle Saul had just picked Ruth and I up in his neon green levia. My parents' funeral had been the day before, and I was still lost in sad thoughts._ _He was talking and telling jokes, trying to cheer me up, when he slammed on the breaks. My body flew forward, only to be snapped back by the seatbelt. _

_"What happened?" I asked in a panic. I was terrified we had hit an animal, but Uncle Saul just looked back at me and grinned._

_"It's all good Amos. It just this stoplight, I swear. It knows when I'm coming, and I always get a red light," Uncle Saul chuckled. While it didn't make much sense, the way he had said it made me laugh a bit too._

* * *

At the time I thought it ridiculous to get mad or annoyed about something like that, but as it happened more and more, I could understand Uncle Saul's point of view. Regardless, it was my only exit. I walked through town the same way I had navigated the halls beneath the school, with absolute caution. I finally made it to the tunnel, which burrowed straight through the mountain. Not to my surprise, a group of soldiers along with four very bulky and cube shaped levias stood in front of the tunnel. I tried to sneak around, but carrying a big sword wasn't making it easy. I was creeping around the corner of one of the levias when one of soldiers said something.

"Why are we here again?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Honestly, I've explained it at least a dozen times," another sighed in exasperation.

"Here let me try to explain it again, so your thick skull can comprehend," a third soldier offered.

"Yeah, sure go ahead," the first replied.

"We are here because Commander Joel ordered reinforcements. There's a kid here who possesses the Gift of Mercy, which makes him a danger to the King. So we captured him, and arrested the rest of Sodom's citizens for treason," the last explained.

"What type of treason?" the first soldier asked.

"They were hiding a threat to the King, duh!" a reply was shouted.

"The threat is what?" the obviously dimwitted soldier questioned.

"The kid with the Gift of Mercy! Haven't you heard the fated prophecy about someone with that gift ending the King's line?" another soldier said.

"Oh yeah!" the first said excitedly.

"Anyway, they'll be sold to the slave trade. So it's like a two for one deal: the threat is ended and we get more money," the soldier who had been explaining originally finished. Unfortunately, that last bit of information hadn't been good for me, and I began to choke and gag at the thought of my friends and family being put up for sale. The worst part was, I couldn't save them. The only thing I had was my sword, because I had left my backpack back in the cell.

"Wait, do you hear something?" one soldier said suddenly. I immediately ended my gagging session and made a run for it. I didn't want to be around when the soldier went looking for the source. Despite it being night, the tunnel itself was flooded with light, so bright it was blinding. As soon as I exited the opposite end of the tunnel, I took a breather to consider my options. The best move, or rather the safest move, would be to follow the road all the way to the next town, which was over an hour by levia. I didn't want to know how long that would take walking, but I had already decided against that. The Imperial Army would definitely start their search for me along the road. The next option would be to hide and wait for the army to leave Sodom and then go back, but I seriously doubted anything would be left. My last option, and the one I decided to take, would be to run into the wilderness and get as far away from Commander Joel and the Imperial Army as fast as possible. My plan after that would have to wait. The surrounding landscape was nothing more than fields upon fields of short, tough grass. I stood up on shaky legs, whether from fear or weariness I didn't know. While outside the tunnel, I could still hear the sounds of alarms from Sodom, but as the distance between myself and my old home increased, the noise slowly faded to the sound of my heartbeat and the pounding of my shoes on the uneven terrain. I carried my sword along with me, but with each step it began to feel heavier and heavier. Eventually, when the first red streaks of dawn appeared, I collapsed. My wounded leg throbbed, and was leaking blood and yellow pus. Not a very attractive sight. My bleeding after I had been shot hadn't been so bad, but with the continued effort and strain on my leg, I was surprised my leg didn't look worse. I didn't have any bandages, so I held my hand over the bullet hole, hoping to slow the bleeding. Soon I resorted to tearing up my sleeves to seal the wound. By then, the sun was fully visible in the sky, but the morning chill still lingered. Realizing that I hadn't slept in over twenty four hours, I stretched to doze, but not before praying.

"Father God, please protect my family and friends as they head for Jericho. Do not allow any harm to come to them. Please also send me some guidance. That would be really great. Amen," I prayed. I laid my head on my sword's grip, which was much more comfortable than the surrounding grass. The grass pricked my skin through my shirt and pants, but I was too tired to care.

_Yes_. The ancient Voice suddenly spoke. I didn't know what the statement referred to, but I hoped it was a good sign. I didn't consider it further as I slipped into a waking world of nightmares that was waiting to plague me.

* * *

How long I slept I didn't know. However, upon my waking I knew something was wrong. The sun blazed overhead, and based on its position, I figured it was some time past noon. Regardless, my sword was no longer underneath my head. Instead, it had shrunken back down into a necklace. I sat up and put it on. My next observation was an overwhelming burning smell. After a quick check to make sure it wasn't me, I noticed a dirt circle had been cleared in the ground. A warm fire crackled within it, and over it stuck two sticks with well charred meat hanging from each stick. My stomach growled, but before I could eat some meat, a person across the fire made their presence known with a short snore. The person was curled up, so I couldn't see their face, but it was obvious they had dozed off while cooking the meat. They wore what had once been a regal white robe with a hood, with gold lace running down its sides. However, while the robe was beautiful, it was not meant for travel. Much of it was ripped in places and shredded at the base, while some of the lace was peeling off, and it had an overall dusty look. I approached the person in an attempt to remove the hood and see their face. Unfortunately, by the time I got close, the person sprang to their feet, pointing a wickedly sharp stick at me. My hands went up in surrender. I could now see it was a girl, but she was different from any person I had ever seen. She had long white hair, despite her seeming to be my age, or maybe slightly younger. Her skin was milky pale, however it had a layer of grime, signaling she had been living in the wilderness a while. The strangest thing about her had to be her eyes. They were bright red, and had a fierceness about them that reminded me of a cornered animal.

"Who are you?" she demanded, poking me in the chest with her pointy stick. It actually kind of hurt.

"My name's Amos. I have the Gift of Mercy. Please don't kill me" I whimpered. The girl's eyes dilated for a moment more, and then she lowered her stick.

"Would you like something to eat?" she asked, offering some meat. I nodded eagerly, and took a huge bite out of the piece she offered me. The meat tasted strange, but was quite delicious. I sat down to finish off my meal.

"My name is Mara. It's nice to meet you," she said before taking a bite from her own morsel.

"Same," I replied, more interested in my food then having a conversation.

"So why are you out here?" she asked, motioning to the vast grassland around us. I finished my meat before I responded, and was able to focus on Mara. Against my will, an image of her heart appeared in my mind. It was significantly different then the other hearts I had seen. The normally bright colors were duller, and swirled around much slower. Black spots littered everywhere, some appearing to be guilt, others anger, and yet others jealousy. How I identified all of it, I didn't know. My only guess was my gift was developing further.

"Oh yeah. Well, I am on the run from the Imperial Army," I said, trying not to sound too dramatic.

"I figured as much. I ran away from home," Mara responded before I could say anything more.

"Why?" I asked.

"I want to take revenge on my father. Unfortunately, the best I can do right now is run away," Mara explained. While that was enough to intrigue my curiosity I didn't want to risk anything more. Suddenly, the sound of thunder became audible. Jumping to my feet, which hurt a good deal because of my leg, I was able to see further away. A dust cloud was rising just at the horizon. Panic rose into my throat, but I suppressed the urge to scream.

"The Imperial Army coming. We have to go," I warned.

"What are you talking about?" Mara said, as she stood up herself.

"See?" I pointed off into the distance. Mara looked, but her eyes did not register the same paranoid fear I felt.

"That's not the Imperial Army," she said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because they only travel in levias. Not by land. Just trust me," Mara explained.

"Should I run away?" I mumbled to myself, only loud enough that even I could barely hear myself say it.

_No. _The Voice warned, and I knew I should listen. So we simply waited there as the dust cloud approached. The closer the dust cloud came, the more I realized that Mara and the Voice were right. The dust cloud turned out to be a group of people traveling on horseback. When they were about a hundred feet away, they reigned their horses to stop. An older guy who appeared to be the leader hopped off of his horse and strode over to us.

"Greeting, strangers," he said. He had dark brown hair and weathered skin, and eyes that matched the sky. He was dressed for travel, with leather pants and a linen jacket to keep him warm.

"Who are you...?" I started, but then Mara interrupted.

"They are the nomadic nation of Evangelic, am I not right?" Mara said bitterly.

"How kind of you to recognize us," the man smiled cheerfully, not picking up on Mara's tone.

"What are you doing here?" Mara retorted.

"We were led here by God of course! Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am known as Malachi," the man said. At that name, Mara shut up and sulked backwards a bit, before firmly sitting on the ground. I sighed.

"I'm Amos, and she's Mara. Sorry for her way of treating you. Can you give us a ride to civilization?" I asked.

"Sure, you can travel with us for a few days. But I wouldn't go in any town located within New Canaan's borders if I were you. The Imperial Army will be waiting," Malachi advised.

"You know about that?" I asked, shocked.

"Trust me, I know a lot. But no need to worry, we'll be crossing the border into Zion soon, so you can just got off there. Now, would you like that wound healed?" Malachi asked. I looked down to see that my bullet wound was bleeding through my makeshift bandage.

"That'd be very much appreciated," I said.

"No worries. My daughters are the best healers in our village, at least now that their mother is gone," Malachi said. He waved to two girls near the front of the group, and they climbed off their horses. One had hair so dark I thought it was black before I realized it was brown. The other girl had curly hair that matched her father's, and a face full of freckles. They wore clothes identical to the rest of the group. Both had blue eyes that gleamed like gems.

"The elder one is Sapphira and the younger is Martha," Malachi introduced them, first pointing at the dark hair and then the curly hair.

"I'll take care of that wound for you," Sapphira said, grabbing my wounded leg. I tumbled over backwards and landed flat on my back.

"Sapphira, be careful!" Malachi warned.

"Don't worry father. My Lord Jesus, through me, won't you heal this man?" Sapphira prayed, eyes closed. A green glow sprouted from Sapphira's hand. She placed this hand on my wound, and instead of pain, a refreshing warm pulse spurred through my body. When she pulled her hand away, Sapphira fell backwards, sound asleep, and her sister caught her.

"Is she alright?" I asked.

"She'll be fine. This always happens whenever either of us uses our Gift of Healing," Martha explained. I nodded and unwrapped my bandage to see there was no longer any hole or wound in my shin.

"Thank you very much," I grinned.

"Sure thing. Now let's get you and Mara a change of clothes while the rest of the group sets up camp," Malachi suggested.


	3. Chapter 3

Here is a new chapter, enjoy. And as always, please review, I 'd really like to hear what you think of the characters, plot, setting, or whatever else you wish to describe. Thank you very much, I really hope you like it and review.

* * *

Chapter III

Malachi retrieved a set of clothing from his own bags that were attached to his saddle, while Martha, after laying Sapphira down on the ground, did the same. I graciously accepted the clothing, which were the same as Malachi's, except the jacket was a royal blue. On the other hand, Mara just looked at her new clothes in disgust. They were similar to mine, except more suited to her frame and the jacket was a subtle red.

"This is great and all, but where am I supposed to change?" Mara complained.

"Can't you just be grateful?" I snapped. I didn't want to make Malachi and his people change their mind about not helping us anymore.

"No, no. She's right. But, could you hold that thought for a second?" Malachi agreed. He fished around in his bags some more until he finally brought out a black cube. It was incredibly small, no bigger than thumb. Various designs were etched into its surface. Around the camp, several other Evangelics were pulling similar devices from their own bags. With a wink at me, Malachi threw the cube into the ground a few feet away. The rest of the group followed suit.

"A lot of good that did," Mara sneered after a few minutes of nothing happening.

"Just wait for it," Malachi advised with an eager, child-like grin. Just after he said that, the ground began to rumble. Bursting forth, large tentacle like objects came from the earth. They were black and purple, and writhed around like snakes. Beginning to organize themselves, the tentacles wove themselves together to form vague skeletal structures resembling domes. Once done, the tentacles began to melt, filling in the holes in the domes. After about ten minutes all the domes were whole and complete, and organized into a circles surrounding a single open area.

"I believe you can change in our home," Martha offered, and began to lead Mara to a certain dome that was bigger than the rest. Martha followed while grumbling under her breath. I stayed back, still overwhelmed by what had just happened.

"Pretty impressive, am I right?" Malachi asked me.

"Impressive is an understatement," I said. Malachi then proceeded to slap me on the back.

"Well, you can't stand there gawking all afternoon. Mind helping me unload this wood?" Malachi requested. I gave a quick nod and forcibly tore my eyes away from the dwellings. Two bundles of large sticks were hitched onto a horse a little further back in the group. Malachi unloaded one onto me as soon as I had set my clothes down, and then took the other one for himself.

"What are these for?" I asked as we hauled them over to the central area. Even though it had only been a short walk, I was sweaty by the time we had reached our destination. I dropped the wood that I was carrying and then collapsed on top of it.

"Why it's for tonight's bonfire," Malachi announced.

"Bonfire?" I muttered, confused.

"Yeah, we have one every time we set up camp. Then we worship and eat our dinner," Malachi explained.

"Sound's like fun," I said.

"Well then, if I was you, I'd get off the firewood and go get changed," Malachi suggested before helping me to my feet. I retrieved my clothes and headed for the dome that Mara and Martha had gone into. For a brief minute, I considered retrieving Sapphira, but then I figured she'd be okay. The dome was about as tall as I was, but upon ducking inside the entrance, I realized there was more than enough room to stand inside. Different sections of the single room were marked off by curtains that drew across on rails. Behind each I could see a cushioned mat laid out for sleeping. In the center was a small table, perfect for leaving random objects. It was then that I realized the dome should be pitch dark, but upon examining the walls, I found they were studded with small crystals that gave a small but steady glow. The entire dome seemed to reflect the night sky, with the crystals as stars. A closed curtain opened swiftly with a swish. Martha and Mara, who had donned the new clothes, came out.

"You look good," I tried to compliment Mara, but she just ignored me.

"Did you per chance bring Sapphira in?" Martha asked.

"No, sorry," I apologized.

"No, it's fine. I'll go retrieve her myself," Martha sighed before leaving the dome. Mara looked mad, and from what I could tell, she had met these people, or at least Malachi, before.

"What do you have against the Evangelics?" I asked. Mara gave me a fierce stare, something that made my very soul shutter.

"It's none of your business," she said coldly. I held up my hands in surrender.

"Fair enough. Still, you should go help Martha," I suggested. Mara continued her death glare, but finally gave an exasperated sigh.

"Fine," she whined, and left the dome. I let myself into the curtained rooms that seemed unoccupied, and changed into the new clothes. They felt a bit scratchy, but comfortable enough. I didn't know what to do with my old clothes, so I left them on the floor. Just as I had finished changing and exited the little room Mara and Martha came in, with Martha carrying Sapphira on her back. Mara was struggling to keep Sapphira from falling.

"How long is she going to sleep?" I asked as Martha and Mara laid Sapphira down on one of the matts.

"She should be up before worship," Martha guessed, drawing the curtain shut. She then headed out, with Mara and myself trailing behind. Outside, Malachi had already started the bonfire, which burned and reaching up several feet toward the dimming sky. However, it wasn't orange like a normal fire. Instead, each flame flickered with a multitude of colors, ranging from everything in the rainbow to even black and white. It had a disorienting effect on my eyes, but was still the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Around the bonfire, smaller tentacles were weaving into comfortable looking benches. Several of the Evangelic women were cooking a stew in a large brass cauldron, which sat just inside the fire. The stew smelled wonderful, and despite eating not that long ago, I found my mouth watering in anticipation for the meal. Mara just shrugged uncaringly. I took a seat, and soon the rest of the Evangelics joined me. I found myself sitting next to Malachi. Soon, ceramic bowls full of stew were passed around. One taste and I knew instantly it was the best thing I had ever tasted. I quickly drank the rest of the stew down. It had celery, carrots, and several other vegetables I had never tasted or seen in it. I glanced across the fire to see Mara staring suspiciously at her soup. She tasted it gingerly, like it was toxic.

"What's her problem?" I asked Malachi, jabbing my spoon to point at Mara.

"Well, it's a long story," Malachi said, finishing his own soup.

"We have time," I encouraged. Part of me wanted to find out more about Mara: who she was, her history, etc.

"I was at one point hired by her father to train her. See, I have the Gift of Leadership, and so does her father, so naturally it was thought she had the same gift. Anyway, the more I worked with her, the more obvious it became that she was hiding her true gift," Malachi narrated.

"Hiding it? Like keeping it a secret?" I asked.

"Patience. At least let me finish the story. But yes, she was keeping it a secret. Anyway, I had figured it out. She begged me not to tell her father, and based on the gift, I agreed. Unfortunately, my discovery of her secret made her bitter toward me, and Evangelics in general," Malachi finished.

"That explains why she was unwilling to stay here. Yet, who is her father? What her secret gift?" I questioned. Malachi put his hand on my shoulder on my shoulder and stared me straight in the eyes. The dancing fire reflected in his eyes, giving me an unnerving feeling.

"I'm sure she'll tell you when she's ready," Malachi said seriously. After that, we didn't talk anymore. I was glad that I had learned a bit about Mara, but that had opened even more questions. In addition, Malachi's final comment had deeply disturbed me, with the sheer seriousness he had said it with. I got a second bowl of the delicious stew and quickly downed it in a few seconds. I mingled with other Evangelics until the sky had faded black. Suddenly, a drum beat began to echo around the bonfire. It was soon joined by a lyre and a flute. A small choir of women stood up and began creating a wavering hum that sounded eerie and ominous at first.

"What's happening?" I wondered aloud.

"Why, we are about to begin worship," Malachi announced. Suddenly, the bonfire flared brighter and higher, and the music broke in to a more rapid beat. The choir began to sing in a language foreign to me, but the words washed over me, and energy burned in my limbs. I felt the incredible need to dance. From the darkness, a group of dancers burst forth. I recognized Sapphira among them, looking well rested. The girls were wearing long skirts and short sleeved shirts tucked into these skirts. The sleeves were puffy, and a piece of seemingly gold rope worked as belt. The guys wore puffy pants and had shirts with a collar that extended to about midway down their chests. They also wore golden rope belts. All the dancers were barefoot and had silver translucent scarves. The actual clothes varied in hue and shade. The dancers took their positions around the bonfire. The flute hit an especially high note, and all the other Evangelics began to clap in beat to the drum. The dancers broke into a wild frenzy of stomping and spinning. The girl's skirts billowed as they spun. All the dancers began then to swirl around one another, grasping one another's hands. The crowd kept the beat, and I found myself clapping along. Then the song ended. I stood up thinking we were done, but apparently not.

"May we worship the Lord our God with all our might!" Sapphira exclaimed toward the sky. She then grabbed my hand, dragging me into the dancing circle. The other dancers pulled other Evangelics from the audience. Another song began, this one even more festive and energetic than the first. Sapphira began a simple dance, and the other dancers followed. I stood there like a fool, feeling awkward, until Sapphira motioned for me to dance. I did my best, and since it was my first time actually dancing, I thought I did fairly well. The dance consisted of stomping your right foot, then your left, and then clapping before spinning around in a circle. Once all the "volunteers" had caught on, the true dancers began to dance more graceful and complicated moves. Soon, the rest of the Evangelic community had joined in the circle and dancing. The song continued for a while, but I caught sight of Mara sitting back so far from the fire, that the darkness mostly covered her, though her white hair stood out. She looked uncomfortable, so I excused myself and walked over to her. I took a look at her heart, but it was unchanged from when I had first met her.

"Why aren't you joining in?" I inquired. Mara just glared at me.

"Why would I join in such childish activities?" she countered.

"It's not that bad. Even Malachi is doing it," I said, pointing out Malachi. He waved to me and tried to signal us over but was lost in the moving mob of dancing Evangelics.

"Exactly. He is nothing more than a child," she muttered bitterly. I shrugged, unsure why she didn't want to join, though I suspected it was because she detested the Evangelics more than that it was childish. I drifted back into the dancing. Eventually, that song ended and a final and more gentle song began. All the Evangelics, including the dancers, took a seat, and began to hum along to the choir. As the song persisted, people began dissipate and head toward their domes. When a yawn escaped my lips, I too went to Malachi's dome.

"Father God, please continue to protect me," was all I could manage to pray before falling asleep on top of the mat.

The next morning, I was blasted awake by the blare of trumpets. I jumped to my feet, flailing my arms like I was being attacked.

"What time is it?" Mara yawned as she crawled out from behind her curtain.

"I don't know, but it's before sunrise," Malachi grinned.

"What?" Mara nearly screamed.

"Yeah, we always start out this early. In fact, you two were the last ones sleeping," Malachi explained.

"Seriously?" I asked. Malachi confirmed it with a nod. We followed him out of the dome. Outside all the other Evangelics were loading their bags onto horses or doing morning stretches. I was tempted to join those doing stretches, but I figured that it would be better to wait and see if Malachi needed any help.

"You may want to step back," Malachi warned. He placed both his hands flat on his dome, and breathed a single inaudible syllable. Mara and I retreated a few steps as the dome began to collapse in on itself. It grew ever smaller until it was reduced into the same small cube that had originally been present, now resting in the palm of Malachi's hand.

"Wow," I breathed. Around the camp, other Evangelics were repeating what Malachi had just done. Once all the domes had been packed up and everyone was gathered around the horse, Malachi spoke.

"I assume everyone is ready to depart, so with that, let us go!" Malachi announced. Everyone began to mount their horses, except Mara and I, who stood there awkwardly.

"What are we supposed to do?" I asked. Malachi considered the question for a minute.

"Okay, so Amos, you ride with me. Mara, you can ride one of the extra horses. I assume you can ride based on your upbringing," Malachi decided. Mara simply nodded without an argument and went over to mount one of the horses which had no rider. Once everyone was situated, we rode off. I might have dozed off once or twice, but once I was able to stay conscious the terrain had become more hilly. We eventually stopped for a break and lunch. Several Evangelics didn't even dismount, instead they ate raw fruits while still sitting on their horses. Malachi, however, dismounted.

"What are we going to eat?" I asked. He handed me an apple to munch on while he went over to Sapphira to speak to her about something. She nodded, then dismounted as well before pulling two wooden swords from her bags. Malachi came back over to me.

"Can you come with me?" he requested.

"Yeah, but can we just leave the group?" I asked.

"They'll be fine. We'll break here for a good hour or so," Malachi said. Without any other words, he started to walk away. Sapphira gave me a pity smile, then ran to catch up with her father. Suspicious, I dismounted and followed. When we were out of earshot, I confronted Malachi.

"What's this about?" I interrogated.

"The burn on your hand," Malachi answered, motioning toward my right hand. I opened my hand up to reveal the cross shaped burn.

"What of it?" I retorted nervously.

"It didn't heal when Sapphira here healed you yesterday. Where did it come from?" he asked.

"Should I tell him?" I mumbled so only I could hear it.

_Yes, trust him_. The Voice spoke. It's not that I didn't want to trust him, but considering what happened in the past day.

"Just watch this," I suggested. I took my necklace off to hold it, and repeated Hebrews 4:12 aloud. Just as it had back in the cell, the necklace began to get uncomfortably hot, though not as bad as it had been the first time. However, it was still painful. The flash soon followed, and Malachi, Sapphira, and I had turned away. I felt a familiar weight in my hand, and when the light died, my hand gripped the sword. Malachi began to laugh, the tension of the situation evaporating.

"God does indeed have a fun way of working in our lives," Malachi chuckled.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"Amos, I do believe the Father wants me to teach you sword fighting," Malachi concluded.

"Really?" I exclaimed, suddenly excited.

"But you can't use that sword. It's far too dangerous, we'll use these practice swords," Malachi explained. With that, Sapphira tossed me a wooden sword, forcing me to drop my real sword.

"Don't worry, I'll heal any wounds you get," Sapphira offered.

"Now come at me with all you've got," Malachi challenged, holding out his own wooden sword. I jabbed experimentally, but Malachi parried the strike away, then launched a swipe at my ribs.

"Ouch," I complained when he made contact.

"You're too open," Malachi criticized. I tried again, instead aiming for the opposite side. However, he again parried the strike away. When he tried to go for my ribs, I tucked my arms in, and moved my practice sword to block his swipe. He gave me a nod of encouragement, and we began to exchange strikes and blows. The more we fought, the more it reminded me of something from my childhood.

* * *

_"You're doing well," my mother's voice encouraged me. I was much younger, barely five. I had been swinging a stick around, pretending it was sword. When I had heard my mother, I tried to turn around to try to see her. However, it was in vain, because I couldn't find her anywhere._

_"I know. I'm going to be the best sword fighter in the world," I declared, proceeding then to swing my stick at a nearby tree._

* * *

We continued our little fight for almost a half hour before we ended. Every so often Malachi would give me tips and I tried my best to follow them. However, by the time the lesson had ended, I was drenched in sweat and aching with bruises. I had managed to hit Malachi a grand total of zero times, while he had hit me with a series of jabs, slashes, and mocking pokes. Malachi tossed me a flask filled with water, which I guzzled eagerly.

"You didn't do all that bad, even for someone with no training," Malachi complimented me.

"Thanks," I managed through wheezy breaths. I went to retrieve my real sword, only to see it had changed back into a necklace. I slipped it back on around my neck.

"I see it's turned back into a necklace," Malachi observed, picking up the wooden sword I had abandoned.

"Yeah. Too bad I don't know how it does it," I sighed. Malachi patted me on the back.

"You'll figure it out," he encouraged before starting to head back to the rest of the Evangelics.

"Mind giving me a refresher?" I requested of Sapphira. She treated me to a laugh, which seemed to echo a bit like a bell.

"Sure, but how about we wait until we are back at the horses," she suggested. I nodded, and we made our way back. Sapphira then healed me, the burn mark again not disappearing. She passed out, but Malachi caught his daughter and put her back on her horse. More of the Evangelics had dismounted by this point, lounging around and taking naps. Mara decided to approach me.

"What was that little outing about?" Mara asked.

"Oh, Malachi was teaching me how to use a sword," I explained.

"Why would you need to use a sword?" Mara sneered. I considered telling her about my seemingly magic necklace, but something inside my heart told me to decide against it.

"Well, to fight with of course," I summarized.

"That doesn't make sense. Everybody uses explosive, or projectiles, or both to fight. Swords are several centuries old," Mara complained.

"Thanks for the school lesson," I said sarcastically. Mara glared at me then went back over to her horse.

"Okay, let's head out," Malachi announced. In no time flat, we were off riding once again.


	4. Chapter 4

I present chapter four to you. I hope that you'll take the time to read and review it, along with any prior chapters. Enjoy!

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Chapter IV

For two weeks, we traveled together with the Evangelics. Everyday was a repeat of riding, sword lessons, riding, worship, and then sleep. However, that's not to say I didn't enjoy myself and I did not want to leave. Mara was bitter toward the Evangelics the whole time, though she did warm up a bit toward Malachi's daughters. The day before we reached Zion, Malachi and I had our final sparring match. The scenery had changed drastically as we had ridden further from my hometown. The short stubby grass had been replaced by evergreen trees, and every so often the group was given a pleasant surprise by falling snow flurries. The changing terrain, however, was appropriate, because Zion itself was a country that consisted of a singular mountain. It extended so high that it reached above the clouds. The country, reportedly, was covered in one massive evergreen forest, and was cold year round. Mara and I were to depart from the Evangelics in a small village called Admah, though from there it was undecided what we would do.

"Are you ready?" Malachi asked, as he leveled his practice sword with my chest. I did the same. My sword fighting skills had much improved under Malachi's guidance, and soon the student would surpass the master.

"Bring it on," I challenged. Malachi swung his sword, aiming for my collar bone. I jumped to the side and raised my own practice sword to deflect it away.

"Well done with the block," Malachi encouraged. I jabbed at his rib cage, but Malachi knocked my sword away. He then went for another swing for my neck again. I swung my own sword with all my force to meet his in midair. There was a crack and the top half of his sword broke off. It surprised me, but I didn't stop my attack for a minute. I jabbed the inside of his arm, which caused him to drop the remains of the practice sword, effectively disarming him. I pushed the point of the wooden sword against his chest.

"I win," I concluded, to which Malachi replied with a hearty laugh.

"Indeed you did. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll have an easy time winning the next time you're in sword fight," Malachi chuckled. On our final night with the Evangelics, Malachi stood up in a clearing by the bonfire.

"Great," Mara groaned, but I elbowed her softly to get her to be quiet.

"As you all probably know, we will be approaching the Zion boundary tomorrow. However, except for our guests and myself, we will not be entering the actual country. I will be escorting our guests only as far as Admah. So, while I am gone, my daughters will be in charge. I thank you all for understanding," Malachi announced. After his speech, Malachi was rewarded with much cheering and clapping. He took a mock bow before sitting down again.

"That was pretty impressive, don't you think?" I asked Mara. It was easy to see how Malachi possessed a Gift of Leadership with his amazing speaking skills.

"My father is better," Mara bragged half-heartily. Worship started, and with expected consistency, Mara did not join in like everyone else. How she managed to resist all the festive music was unknown. Over the course of the month, I had worked on improving my Gift of Mercy and controlling it. I willed myself to look at Mara's heart, but it still looked the same, if not worse. The colors were still dull, and swirling in a sluggish manner, almost that like they weren't moving at all. It felt like she was slowly turning to stone inside.

The next morning, Malachi awakened Mara and I earlier than anyone else. We set out riding beneath the towering evergreens and up the mountain. The trees must've been at least a couple hundred years old, because the lowest branches didn't even reach the top of my head while I was on horseback. After a few hours we reached Admah. The village had only about ten houses and an inn, all nestled comfortably between the trees.

"This is where we depart," Malachi said, as he dropped us off in front of the inn.

"It's not really that much of a shame," Mara huffed, clearly wanting Malachi to go. Instead, Malachi turned directly to address her.

"Mara, I hope you learn to forgive me someday, but even if you don't, I apologize once again," Malachi offered, but Mara turned away and walked into the inn.

"She's got issues," I said.

"More than you know, even with your gift. Continue to look after here, okay?" Malachi requested, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, of course," I replied quickly.

"She'll open up to you eventually," Malachi promised. With that, he pulled a bag off his saddle and tossed it to me. Inside I found fresh clothes, a small sack of coin, and a little black cube.

"What's all this for?" I asked.

"Just in case you need it," Malachi explained. I wanted to thank him for all he had done for me: the traveling, the teaching, and now this final gift. My eyes started to get watery as I realized that I may never see this awesome person again.

"Thanks for everything," I finally managed to choke out. Malachi gave me a grin and rustled my hair, the way a father would do to his son. As Malachi mounted his horse and was prepared to leave, I couldn't help taking a look at his heart. It seemed pretty clean, with the bright colors swirling with enthusiasm. However, two lines of black snaked through the colors. It was guilt that was causing Malachi's heart pain. It made me realize everyone has pain on their heart, that nobody made it through life unscathed. I turned and took a moment to examine the inn. The sign outside called it Rustic Tavern, and I found the name appropriate. It was about three stories and built of red bricks. Ivy twirled its way up the side of the building. I entered the building and quickly realized the interior did not match the exterior. The lobby was painted green, with couches and recliners sprawled about. A door leading to a small dining room sat next to a staircase that led to the next floor. The banister of the staircase was oriental in design and decorated with carved flowers and vines. I saw Mara standing in front of the desk, arguing with someone. A short, pot-bellied man with thick glasses and greasy black hair slicked back into a comb-over stood in opposition to Mara.

"I demand a room!" Mara shouted.

"I'm sorry, but unless you have money, I can't give you a room," the man said, his face was turning red with clear anger.

"Give me a break," Mara recoiled. The man suddenly spoke to me.

"I'll be with you in moment sir. As soon as I deal with this young lady," the man said before turning his attention to Mara.

"Amos, thank God. This man here won't give me a room," Mara complained.

"Because you have no money!" the man exclaimed.

"I can pay for a room," I said, pulling out the sack of coins and dropping it on the desk.

"That sounds like a lot of money, sir," the man observed. When I looked at his heart, it was full of greed and jealousy, which clogged out much of the swirling colors that should have been present.

"What's your name?" I asked the man.

"Giddel," the man replied, still staring at the sack.

"I have a deal for you, Giddel. You give my colleague and I a room and meal for tonight, and you can have all this money," I offered, picking up then dropping the sack again.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" Mara asked, grabbing the money sack. She grabbed my shirt sleeve and dragged me away from the desk.

"Hey," I protested.

"What are you doing, trying to ruin us?" Mara accused in a hushed tone, giving me another of her terrible glares. I had gotten them quite often over the past month, but I still hadn't become used to them.

"No! Of course not. But desperate times call for desperate measures," I exclaimed.

"Hush. What do you mean? We aren't desperate," Mara said.

"With the way you were treating Giddel, and unless you're willing to sleep outside, I'd say we are," I countered. Mara was suddenly speechless.

"Fine, do what you have to do," she grumbled. We went back over to Giddel, and Mara gave him an innocent smile.

"Sorry about that," I apologized.

"It's quite alright," Giddel dismissed.

"So do we have a deal?" I prompted.

"Yes, of course. But, now that I've been thinking about it, you two look familiar. Maybe I saw you on the news or something," Giddel said. Suddenly, panic rose in my chest. I should have been more careful. It would figure someone might recognize me as a wanted criminal in New Canaan. Then I'd be dragged back to Jericho, kicking and screaming.

"Let's just quit the facade," Mara sighed.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Well, Mr. Giddel here obviously recognizes us. We were, after all, in those movies," Mara feigned. I realized what Mara was up to, and decided to play along.

"Really? Actors?" Giddel squeaked, his voice rising in volume pitch.

"Yep, you caught us. Would be too much trouble to keep our visit here on the down low? We are on vacation," I said.

"Of course, of course! This is so exciting. Celebrities, staying my inn. I must tell my wife," Giddel prattled, handing us the key to our room before going off into the kitchen.

"That worked," Mara summarized, and we went up stairs to our room. We were on the top floor, in a room near the back of the building. The room was painted just like the lobby. It had two full sized beds, perfect for Mara and I. There was a hologram monitor, or H.M. for short on top of the dresser. A large window that was opposite the door had its curtain drawn across, but when opened, the window allowed a great view of the village. I turned on the H.M. and a square image flashed into existence just above it. A women was sitting there while news story titles rolled by on the lower portion of the screen.

"Hey, this is the news station for New Canaan," I observed. Mara laid down on the bed and groaned.

"Change the channel. The news is always so boring," Mara complained. I sighed, but before I could, a picture of me flashed onto the screen. Worst of all, it was a school picture, which was always bad.

"Attention, this teenager is a wanted man of New Canaan. Any information leading to his capture will involve a huge sum of money as a reward," the newswoman announced. I felt my panic return. My thoughts began to race and I collapsed on my bed.

"Amos! Are you alright?" Mara asked, standing over me.

"I'm a dead man," was all I could murmur. Mara quickly shut off the H.M. and then returned to my side.

"Calm down. Here's an idea. Let's go eat and discuss our next move," Mara suggested. The thought of food instantly cleared my head when I realized how hungry I really was. We went down to the dinner and sat down. The only other person in there was a man sleeping in the corner, surrounded by cups of coffee and important looking documents. A waitress came over to us.

"What would you like to eat?" she asked, like she was annoyed she had to work. She wore a simple baby blue dress, with a white apron around her waist. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

"Be patient. We have to look at the menu first," Mara snapped, though the waitress didn't seem intimated. While I looked to see what to eat, the waitress tapped her foot impatiently, which was rather unnerving.

"Hurry up," the waitress eventually groaned, and the look on Mara's face scared me, like she was about to attack the waitress.

"Fine, get us two waters to drink," Mara growled, clenching her fists against the menu. With the waitress finally gone, I was able to quickly order what I wanted. I got a huge steak with a side of mushrooms, while Mara got a salad.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked while we waited for our food.

"Do you know of the island nation of Galilee?" Mara asked.

"Isn't that to the south of New Canaan, in the Tropical Seas?" I questioned. Mara nodded.

"It's a big vacation spot. My family has a vacation home just outside the city of Bethel. Let's go there and lay low since nobody should be there at this time of year. We can get there from the port of Tyre, on the other side of the mountain," Mara explained.

"Then that's where we'll go to tomorrow," I agreed. Just then our food arrived, Mara and I dug in like we were starved wolves.

"How do you kids plan to pay for this?" the waitress asked as we devoured our food.

"Just check with the innkeeper. We should be covered," I said in between bites.

"Wait, you're those actors my husband was talking about!" the waitress exclaimed.

"Yep," Mara said.

"Can I have your autographs?" the waitress asked, holding out a pad of paper and a pen. Mara refused to sign, but to make the waitress happy, I scribbled gibberish on the paper.

"Enjoy," Mara said sarcastically before shooing the waitress away.

"Thank you very much!" the waitress said as she scampered away.

"You don't have to be so mean," I told Mara.

"It's not my fault if people annoy me," Mara shrugged. By the time we had finished our meal and dessert, the sun had already descended behind the horizon. We took turns getting a quick shower. Mara immediately went to bed, but I kneeled at the foot of mine to pray like I always did.

"Lord my God, please continue to protect me. I pray for the safety of the Evangelics and for a safe journey to Tyre tomorrow. Amen," I prayed. Mara sat up in her bed.

"Do you always pray before you go to sleep?" she asked me.

"Yeah, don't you?" I said.

"Not really. But at least I don't just ask for stuff," Mara said.

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

"God is just like us. He likes when we talk to Him, thank Him for stuff He's done for us. I'd think you'd know that," Mara explained before lying back down and closing her eyes. It sounded a little weird, but Mara did have a point. I kneeled again.

"God, thank You for all your assistance in everything. I thank you for the awesome gift, and for the friends You have provided for me. Amen," I prayed, hoping I had thanked God for everything I needed to. The covers were warm and comfortable, and I was suddenly overcome with drowsiness. I switched off the lights.

"Good night," Mara mumbled through the darkness. A smile crept upon my lips.

"Night," I murmured back before falling asleep. However, I would dream that night, though it would be more of a memory.

* * *

_I was much younger again. A warm feeling surrounded me, and I felt the most comfortable I had ever felt. I realized I was lying on a couch, lying between the crook of my father's elbow and his body. The H.M. was on, showing the news. _

_"Son, when you get older, don't watch the news. It's too depressing," my father warned. I tried to look at my father, but like my mother, I couldn't see his face. All I could see was a mustache and metallic grey hair that came down to cover his eyes, though my father was wearing glasses. Just then a video of the King began to play on the H.M. and I noticed a little girl with him. I couldn't figure it out, but something seemed different about her._

_"Who's that?" I asked._

_"Who, the little girl? I do believe that she's the Princess," my father said._

_"She's very pretty," I ogled._

_"Slow down there. Women can be very tough," my father laughed. My mother suddenly appeared in the room._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked._

_"Yeah, Daddy, what's that mean?" I asked. My father ruffled my hair, like Malachi had done._

_"I'll teach you someday," my father promised. Then the memory faded._

* * *

I woke with a start. The darkness outside the window told me it was still night. The memory had already begun to go fuzzy, but I felt like something more important was wrong. There was a clicking sound, like a key in a keyhole. I rushed to the door only to find it locked from the outside.

"Open this door!" I demanded.

"What's happening?" Mara asked sleepily. My shouting had awakened her. I heard laughter from the other side of the door.

"I'll tell you. I'm going to get rich," I heard Giddel's voice.

"Explain yourself," Mara shouted, now fully awake.

"I know both of you are wanted by New Canaan. They are offering money for both of you, and now that I have both of you captured, I'm going to be very rich soon. By the way, don't bother trying to escape. The window is locked too," Giddel explained. Soon after I heard Giddel's footsteps retreating down the hallway. I just lost it, collapsing to my knees and weeping.

"God, why do you forsake me?" I screamed. I heard Mara scrambled from her bed. She hauled me to my feet by grabbing the back of my shirt collar.

"Amos, get a hold of yourself," she demanded.

"I can't. We are going to be dragged back to Jericho, where I'm going to be executed, even after all I've been through," I sobbed. Suddenly Mara raised her hand and brought it straight across my cheek. The slap stung for a moment, but it did manage to stop the tears from flowing.

"That's not going to happen. We can still escape," Mara said sternly, looking me straight in the eyes. I wiped my nose on my sleeve, calming down.

"I'm such a crybaby. Okay, you're right. So, how are we going to escape?" I said. Mara did a quick glance around the room.

"The door isn't an option anymore. The window is though," Mara thought aloud.

"But it's locked," I protested.

"Then we have to throw stuff at it," Mara concluded. We started picking up anything we could lift and throw, but it was all in vain. The stuff just simply broke or rebounded off the windowpane. Even the H.M. broke in half when I hurled it at the window.

"This is hopeless," I sighed, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"Don't give up. We just need something heavier and denser," Mara said.

"Like?" I asked.

"Like your necklace!" she suggested. Suddenly, an idea began to formulate in my mind. We needed a miracle, and my necklace was the perfect miracle. A month ago, I was hesitant to show Mara my trump card, and I was still hesitant. However, we were desperate.

"Stand back," I warned.

"Why?" Mara asked.

"Just trust me," I replied. I pulled off my necklace as Mara backed up to the door, staring at me like I was crazy. I recited Hebrews 4:12, the verse required to transform the necklace. The familiar searing shot of pain went through my hand and up my arm again. I wanted to scream, but bit my tongue. The heat had reached it's maximum intensity when the glow reached blinding levels. I checked to make sure Mara was covering her eyes before doing the same. When the glow died, I felt the familiar weight of my sword in my hand.

"Did you just summon a sword?" Mara asked, truly stunned.

"Yeah, but before I explain, let's get out of this village," I said. I swung the sword, and the window glass gave way with ease. Even though the window was now a free exit, we were still three stories up and alarms began to blare.

"How do we get down?" Mara asked.

"We could jump," I offered. Mara treated me to one of her terrible glares.

"And break our legs and not be able to get away once we were found. That would just put us at square one," Mara said. Suddenly, I recalled the memory of when I was observing the outside of the building earlier.

"The ivy!" I exclaimed.

"The what?" Mara asked. I ignored her for a minute, feeling around on the walls outside the building. I found one of the ivy vines, which appeared to be thick and sturdy enough to support us.

"There's ivy covering the side of the building. We can use it to climb down," I explained as I pulled the vine I had found inside. Mara nodded in agreement. I threw my sword and Malachi's bag to the ground below as Mara went first, climbing down the ivy. As I was taking turn, Giddel burst into the room.

"How did you...?" he started to ask, but I just waved as my head and disappeared below the window sill. I retrieved my sword and bag and Mara and I took off running into the forest, leaving Admah far behind. I ran behind Mara, following the glow of her white hair under the full moon.

* * *

As always, please review!


	5. Chapter 5

So here's the next chapter. Not much to say... Please review.

* * *

Chapter V

When we finally stopped running, I checked behind us. Fortunately, there were no lights and assumedly no one pursuing us. On the negative side, we were lost in the forests of Zion.

"Thank God we managed to escape," I heaved, leaning against a tree. Mara didn't seem nearly as out of breath as I was.

"Yeah that's great, but now we've got nowhere to sleep," Mara complained. Suddenly, I was struck with an idea. Fishing around in the bag from Malachi, I presented the black cube to Mara.

"Tada!" I exclaimed. Mara scrutinized the cube, which made sense since it was dark and hard to see.

"So what?" she asked. I threw the cube into the dirt.

"Just wait for it," I advised. Without disappointing, the same black tentacles that formed the homes for the Evangelics grew forth from the ground. Instead of forming a dome, they wrapped around the trunk of a tree to form a tent.

"That'll work," Mara shrugged. We went inside, and even though there were no mats or pillows, we fell asleep in a matter of minutes on the floor, which seemed to hum with a warm yet comforting energy.

* * *

The chirping of birds awoke me in the morning. Immediately, I noticed a couple of things wrong. First, my sword had transformed back into its necklace form, which I put on. Secondly, we were now asleep on the forest floor, instead of the tent the black cube had provided the previous night. Mara was still asleep, but it looked like bugs were starting to make homes in her hair.

"Mara, wake up," I yelled. Mara's eyes immediately fluttered open.

"Why?" she asked irritably.

"Your hair," I said, motioning toward her head. Mara cautiously reached up to run her fingers through her hair. She had the displeasure of touching an especially big and hairy spider the moment her fingers reached her scalp. She let out a ghastly shriek, which chilled me to the core.

"Get them out! Get them out!" she begged. I was forced to help her, much to my own displeasure. I'd always found bugs to be a squeamish subject, but with some struggling and using a stick as a makeshift comb, we got out all the critters.

"All done," I concluded. Suddenly I noticed Mara had a fearful look in her eyes.

"Be quiet. Did you hear that?" Mara warned. At first, I thought Mara was being paranoid. Clear daylight filtered through the forest canopy. The birds continued to chirp with a carefree attitude, but then I heard it too. The sound of twigs snapping and leaves rustling, signaled the coming of a larger animal. We peeked around the edge of the tree, and were surprised to see a teenager standing there. He had long blonde hair and whiskers on his chin. He was light skinned, but the way he was dressed was the strangest. He wore shorts that looked like animal skin, and a white shirt. A point wooden spear was strapped to his back by some black cords. On his shoulder he wore shoulder pads crafted of tree bark. All in all, he looked like a wild man. He was whistling a tune to a bird, who would chirp back occasionally. It seemed almost like they were conversing.

"Who's that?" I whispered.

"How should I know?" Mara snapped back.

"I don't know," I hissed. Suddenly, the guy stopped his conversation with the bird and began to head toward our tree.

"What should we do?" Mara panicked.

"Maybe he's friendly," I offered. Unfortunately, he then jumped in front of us, wielding his spear and screaming like a raging lunatic. Mara screamed and backed up against the tree. I quickly followed her example. The guy began to speak in a language unfamiliar to me. When he noticed the confused expression on our faces, he switched through languages like he was flipping through a photo album.

"Go away," Mara stammered. The guy eyes lit up when he heard Mara talk.

"Oh, so you speak English? My apologies, it has been ages since I've spoken with another human," the guy said.

"Wait, you really were conversing with that bird?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?" he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. I stared, completely dumbfounded.

"How?" Mara asked for me.

"Well, I have the Gift of Tongues, meaning I can speak in any language, even if I've never learned it," the guy explained.

"That's great. I'm Mara and he's Amos," she said, jabbing her thumb to point at me.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Samuel," the guy introduced.

"Anyway, we're going to Tyre. Do you think you could lead us there?" Mara asked.

"Sure, but it's more than a day's journey. You guys can stay with me tonight," Samuel suggested. I saw Mara get an angry look, like she was about to complain.

"Thank you," I intervened.

"You're welcome. Now, if you'd kindly follow me," Samuel said. As he walked off, Mara held me back for a moment.

"We don't know anything about him. You're willing to trust him?" she accused.

"He lives in the middle of the woods," I countered.

"So?" Mara exclaimed.

"Are you coming?" Samuel called from a short distance away.

"Yeah," I yelled back. I began to follow, and Mara reluctantly trailed behind. He led us around the maze of trees in a seemingly random pattern. However, eventually we arrived at a beautiful grove. A cave high up on a rock face spilled crystal clear water, which fell in a pool. Grass sprouted around the edges of the pool, and the trees seemed even bigger here compared to the rest of the forest. I began speechless in awe.

"Over here," Samuel signaled, guiding us to the largest tree in the grove. It was easily the thickness of a building, if not thicker. The top of the tree was so high up it was beyond my line of sight. Then I noticed a glow that seemed to come from beneath the bark. Samuel pulled back the bark to reveal a hollow in the tree. It was decorated so that it looked like a normal dwelling. The inside was washed in a cheery light illuminating from a hearth, in which the fire burned small enough so that it wouldn't ignite the whole tree. The smoke rose high up into the hollowed out tree. Comfortable looking couches circled the hearth. A set of cabinets accompanied by a table and set of chairs was in the corner.

"This place looks awesome!" I exclaimed. Mara even had a sparkle of interest in her eyes.

"Thank you. Please, make yourself at home," Samuel encouraged. Mara and I took him up on his offer. Mara crashed on his couches while I raided his cabinets. They were stocked with fresh fruit and exotic spices, stuff I didn't know was available in the region.

"Where did you get all this?" I asked, biting a chunk out of a pear.

"It's complicated," Samuel smiled sheepishly. After stuffing ourselves, Mara and I laid down, and soon passed out. When I awakened, I stretched and let loose a large yawn. It felt like it had been forever since I had gotten a good sleep, and I felt refreshed and well rested, like I had been healed by Sapphira. Suddenly, something felt wrong, like my neck wasn't supporting a weight. My hand instinctively went for my necklace, but I was shocked to find it not there. Panic rose into my throat. I began to overturn couch cushions and search the floor for my beloved necklace. All my rustling caused Mara to stir.

"What's wrong, Amos?" she asked, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleepiness in them.

"My necklace is missing," I explained. Mara was immediately on the floor, helping me to search.

"How could you lose it?" Mara criticized.

"I don't know. It's always on my neck, even when I go to sleep. I have no clue where it could have gone," I said.

"Wait," Mara paused midway through her search of the cabinets.

"What?" I asked irritably. I wanted to keep looking for my necklace.

"Where's Samuel?" Mara asked. The truth quickly dawned on me. Both of us rushed outside to see Samuel examining the necklace's glint in the sunlight.

"Oh, hello. Is this yours?" he asked innocently, offering the necklace back.

"Your nothing but a thief," Mara said exactly what I was thinking. Samuel took off in a full off sprint. Mara chased after him, hot in pursuit. I, on the other hand, just stood there, because I had a better idea.

"For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints, and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart," I shouted toward the sky, loud enough for the cross pendant to hopefully hear. I heard a painful yelp, and looked to see Samuel drop my necklace, glowing red with heat, into the grove's pool. Steam began to rise from the pool, creating a miniature fog cloud. A flash inside the pool confirmed the necklace transforming to the sword. By then Mara had reached Samuel and attempted to tackle him. Unfortunately, he dodged to the side and she dove face first into the pool. I began to run toward where she and Samuel were. Samuel began to laugh at Mara's failure, until she rose out of the pool. She was soaking wet, with her clothes clinging to her body. However, grasped in her hands was the hilt of my sword, the blade still partly submerged. Samuel moved fast, pulling his wooden spear from his back. He pointed it at Mara, who didn't seem to be able to lift the sword. Samuel made a jab at her ribs, but pulling with all her strength, Mara was able to swing the sword upwards. It chopped off the pointy end of the spear, which plopped harmlessly into the water.

"What?" I heard Samuel stammer as I approached closer, a nervous expression consuming his face. Mara leveled the sword so it was now even with his chest.

"Take us to Tyre, now," Mara demanded, an unmerciful glint in her eyes.

"Fine, you win," Samuel grumbled raising his hands in surrender. Mara lowered the sword, and handed it back to me, but not before glaring at Samuel to make sure he didn't try anything funny.

"So how do we get there?" I asked. Samuel pointed up to the cave that spouts the water that fed the pool.

"Up there. It's a shortcut through the mountain. If we travel through it, you can see Tyre on the other side, and you can get there before dusk," Samuel explained. I accepted his answer. While he went to prepare a way to get up to the cave, Mara and I spent time filling Malachi's bag with various fruits.

"Do you think these were stolen?" I asked.

"Probably, but we might as well take them. It's not like we can return them," Mara said, to which I agreed. I kept a close eye on my sword, to make sure it wouldn't shrink back into a necklace. It seemed to be anytime I neglected or forgot the sword, it would shrink back into a necklace. Whether that was the key to controlling it transformation, I didn't know nor had the time to figure out. Samuel then came in carrying a stick wrapped in paper-like bark.

"We're ready to go," Samuel announced while he lit the top of the stick to make a torch.

"What's that for? Don't you have an electrical light?" Mara asked.

"Nope, sorry. Nothing technological out here," Samuel reported. Before we went out, I cut one of the straps from the bag to make a makeshift strap to tie my sword to my waist. I was glad I did as soon as I saw our way up to the cave. A crude ladder made of branches and tied together with plant fibers made its way almost twenty feet up to the cave.

"I guess you use the cave often," I commented.

"Where do you think I steal everything from?" Samuel grinned, like he wasn't practically our prisoner and we were friends.

"Get on with it. Let's get going," Mara ordered. We ascended the ladder. Samuel held the torch in his teeth as he climbed, and was careful not to let it touch the ladder itself. The ladder was extremely shaky, and I was very relieved when I, the last to begin climbing up, got to the cave.

"Just keep going straight and you'll reach the other side eventually," Samuel instructed, handing Mara the torch.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere just yet," Mara snapped, handing the torch back. To Samuel's horror, she then proceeded to push the ladder away from the edge of the cave. It went backwards, crashing into the pool below.

"How am I supposed to get back down?" Samuel complained.

"That's not our problem, but I'm sure you'll figure out a way. For now, though, you're going to lead us to Tyre," Mara said. She gave me a nod, and even though it didn't feel right, I drew my sword and pushed the point to Samuel's back.

"You heard her. Get moving," I said, trying to sound fierce. We began to hike into the cave, which did not turn into an enjoyable experience. The torch gave off enough light to offer a fair view of the dark innards of the cave. Water covered the floor, and rose to above our knees, forcing us to hike up our pants. The walls were comprised of black stone, but were wet and slick and coated in slimy algae. The path opened barely for two people to walk side by side.

"It's disgusting in here," Mara shivered. I couldn't help but agree. However, I decided to focus on making sure Samuel didn't try to abandon us, of which the chances were high. The dankness of the cave brought back another memory, and I began to muse over it.

* * *

_One day, just after I had begun living with Uncle Saul, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with my homework. I was still coping with the death of my parents, and the seemingly endless school work wasn't helping. I decided some playtime was in order._

_ "Have you finished your homework?" Uncle Saul asked as I raced out of my room. _

_ "Yeah," I lied cheerfully, excited about going outside to play._

_ "That's good. Where are you going now?" Uncle Saul said._

_ "To play," I cheered, and ran into the yard to play and explore. After rolling around in the grass to burn some energy, I discovered a water drainage pipe. My young mind was still fascinated by dark and dirty places like that at the time, so I went exploring inside. When I finally crawled out, I was filthy. Uncle Saul was not too happy when I came in tracking dirt and slime everywhere. _

_ "What happened to you?" Uncle Saul nearly shouted._

_ "I went cave exploring," I said proudly, thumping my chest. Uncle Saul must've figured out what I had meant, because he burst out laughing._

_ "Well, in that case, go clean yourself up," Uncle Saul instructed, rubbing my dirty head affectionately. _

* * *

I was still lost in the memory when Samuel suddenly dropped the torch into the water. The cave went pitch black.

"Hello," I called into the darkness. Suddenly, there was a shove against my chest and I fell into the water, dropping my sword in the process. My sword clanged as it bounced off the cave wall. There was shriek that sounded like Mara followed by a splash behind me. Mara seemed to flounder a bit while I heard Samuel's laughter echo back from where we had come.

"Where's that thief? He's going to pay for doing this to me, twice now," Mara began to threaten.

"Don't bother getting mad. Our mischievous guide has ditched us," I sighed. Mara grumbled to herself while I recovered my sword. When I found it and strapped it on, I found Mara and helped her to her feet.

"What do we do now? I'm not going back to his grove," Mara complained. I didn't really want to either.

"It can't be too much further. As long as we follow the wall and keep going the direction we were going, we should make it," I suggested.

"We should hold hands, so we don't get separated," Mara offered. I felt my face heat up, but fortunately it was darker than night, so she shouldn't be able to see me. I awkwardly grasped her hand. We fumbled over to the right wall, where I could feel it against my shoulder.

"Are you on the wall?" I asked Mara.

"Yeah," her voice responded from behind me. The wall felt even grosser than it had looked, but I took a little comfort in the fact I was actually holding a girl's hand. Eventually, the wall began to feel drier. The water covering our feet and legs began to get shallower as we walked further until the ground was completely dry. Soon, I spotted a pinpoint of light not far ahead.

"I can see light," I announced to Mara. She didn't respond immediately, so I got worried she had disappeared in the darkness. I squeezed her hand to make sure she was still there.

"I see it too," Mara finally said much to my relief. We began to run until we reached the exit to the cave. I had to shield my eyes as the blazing sunlight hit my face. Sprawled out before us was the remainder of the mountain and the ocean far beyond. I could make out Tyre at the edge of the ocean, even though any details to what the city looked like were impossible to make out. The landscape held a picture perfect moment. It was then, with embarrassment, I realized I was still holding Mara's hand. I realized it from my grasp, and prayed that she didn't notice.

"That's a relief to be out of that cave," I grinned.

"Race you to the city," Mara challenged, leaping off the small ledge that separated the cave from the forest floor. Before I began to chase after her, I checked my sword, which had shrunk back down into a necklace, now barely hanging from the strap. I strung it on my neck before racing after Mara. I quickly caught up, but could not overtake her, so we ended bursting into the city at the same time. The city was filled with people driving levias far above, trapped in traffic jams. People swarmed the sidewalks, which were covered in the shadows of huge buildings. The buildings were like huge spires, covered in reflective glass and steel. The city itself seemed like a typical city, save for the weird buildings.

"It's good to be in Tyre," Mara commented.

"So I guess we should head for the port," I said. Mara shot me one of her intimidating glares.

"Are you crazy? Not when we look like this. We wouldn't even be allowed on the boat," Mara complained, signaling to our dripping wet clothes and overall rugged and dirty appearances.

"So what do we do?" I asked, which kind of made me feel like a fool when Mara glared again.

"As long as the clothes are still dry inside the bag, we should go find a public bath," Mara suggested. I pulled the bag from the back, and sure enough, the clothes were still dry. We wandered the streets until we stumbled across a nice looking public bath. We went inside, but it was then that I realized we didn't have any money.

"What are we suppose to do? We have no money," I whispered to Mara as we approached the front desk.

"Just go sit over there, and leave it to me," Mara ordered. I obeyed and she went to speak with the lady at the desk. The lady did not look pleased when Mara mentioned we had no money, but then the lady's eyes seemed to illuminate when Mara mentioned something else. The lady disappeared behind a door that was marked as the manager's office. There was what seemed like screaming, and the lady came out doing little bows as she approached Mara. After a brief discussion with the lady some more, Mara came over to where I sat.

"Okay, we can go in," Mara said.

"What did you say?" I asked in utter awe.

"I'll tell you later. Now, give me my clothes," Mara shrugged. She took her clothes and went into the women's side while I went into the men's. I took a long and warm shower after which I felt completely refreshed. When I came out completely clean and in fresh clothes, I felt like a new man. Mara wasn't out yet, so I sat around and read some magazine. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice that sent chills down my spine.

"Excuse me, have you seen this kid?" the voice asked just outside the public bath. I peeked outside, and sure enough there stood Commander Joel, showing a hologram image of my face to a couple.


	6. Chapter 6

Now it has come to my attention that my Pokemon story (Pokemon Treble, Alto, & Bass) is more popular than this story, with over twice the viewer and visitors. This makes a bit of sense, seeing how the Pokemon fandom on this site is larger, 70k+ stories out there. Still, if you could take the time, any visitors to Tungsten Cross, please review. Thank you!

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Chapter VI

Commander Joel was looking not so good, especially after our last fight. The side of his head had a huge gash, which was assumedly my fault. He was sickly looking, pale and had a tired look in his eyes, like the strain of looking for me was taking a toll. He still wore his white battle suit and had surrounded himself with three guards. I noticed two people standing at a slight distance. I immediately recognized Giddel and his wife. They looked terrified of Commander Joel and shook their heads at Commander Joel's questions, then walked away. Commander Joel angrily slammed his fist into the nearby wall, causing it to crack slightly. I took a quick look at the commander's heart. It was still filled with the same darkness and malice as before, if not worse.

"Don't worry, sir. We'll find him eventually," Giddel offered.

"You," Commander Joel growled and began to stalk toward the fat man. Giddel shrank in fear while his wife gripped his arm.

"I'm sorry. I spoke out of line," Giddel murmured, continuing to try to make himself as small as possible. Commander Joel grabbed Giddel by the shirt and hoisted him up to eye level.

"You had him, and he escaped!" Commander Joel shouted, drawing attention from bystanders.

"Yes, I'm very aware of his escape. However, my wife did overhear him and the girl discussing about coming to this city to get a boat," Giddel stammered. Commander Joel dropped the man, who landed with a heavy thud on his butt. Giddel's wife went to check to make sure her husband was still okay.

"Very well. Do you know where they are going?" Commander Joel asked.

"To Galilee," Giddel responded, struggling to get his weight off the ground. He began to breathe quite heavily once he was on his feet.

"Then we will go to the port as our next place of search," Commander Joel decided. Giddel ran to catch up to Commander Joel, who had begun to stride away.

"Does this mean I can have my money, sir?" Giddel begged. Commander Joel glared at Giddel with an intensity rivaling Mara. Giddel immediately stopped walking and began to shrink back again.

"You will receive your reward if, and when, we find the criminal, you greedy innkeeper," Commander Joel sneered. The whole group soon disappeared into the crowded street. I was going to follow them when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I whipped around to see Mara.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mara asked.

"Commander Joel is here and he's looking for me," I explained.

"That man? He's evil and ruthless and..." Mara started to prattle. I raised my hand to stop her.

"I know. I've seen his heart," I said.

"How'd find us? I mean you," Mara asked.

"Giddel and his wife must've reported us, even after we had escaped," I guessed, but Mara seemed to agree with it.

"They're here to assume," Mara said.

"You assumed correctly," I confirmed. We decided we might as well head for the port, in hope we would make it there before them. We weren't so fortunate. When we saw the sign that the Tyre port was just up ahead, we ran into Giddel. Literally, we ran into them. I crashed into Giddel, whom I ended up tumbling over while he landed on his face. Mara was forced to stumble around us, but still ended up falling too.

"Watch it," he snapped sitting up. However, when he got a look at me, and recognized who I was, his eyes went wide.

"Amos, let's go," Mara warned. I struggled to my feet, as did Mara, but Giddel managed to call Commander Joel before we could disappear.

"Sir, I've found them, the criminal and his girl," Giddel called.

"His girl?" Mara asked, clearly annoyed at the comment. Commander Joel, who was further ahead than Giddel, turned around faster than what should've been humanly possible.

"I've got you now, you little imp," Commander Joel laughed, as he started to wade through the crowd to get to us.

"Run," I ordered, and Mara and I tried to sprint off. However, Giddel launched himself and latched onto our ankles. Mara and I tumbled to the ground again.

"Enough of this," I growled. I took ahold of my necklace and repeated the verse. It began to heat up and glow, which forced Giddel to release us, lest he go blind. My sword formed in my hand just as Commander Joel reached us.

"So that's the secret behind your sword? Interesting," Commander Joel mused. He drew his own sword and held it against my neck. I swung my sword and knocked it away.

"Don't make me beat you again," I growled, rising to my feet. I assisted Mara up and then pointed my sword toward Commander Joel, who just laughed.

"Last time was a fluke. I'll beat you this time, and then drag you back to Jericho in chains and barely alive," he cackled. Just then, Giddel tapped him on the shoulder.

"Sir, We've found him. May I have my pay?" Giddel asked. Commander Joel sighed and fished several gold coins out of his pocket. He tossed them to Giddel, who failed to catch most of them. Giddel and his wife scrambled to recover all their money before disappearing into an alley. Commander Joel flashed his sword toward me again. I got the message: it was time to fight. Commander Joel started, jabbing at my ribs. I sidestepped and parried with ease. I feinted to the side before slipping my blade between his arm and torso. I turned the sword so a clean cut ran across his side. The battle suit cut and blood was drawn.

"You've gotten better. Have you been training?" Commander Joel complimented, though it seemed layered with sarcasm. I didn't respond, preferring to focus on my movements. A ring of people started to form around our fight. I thought they must think we were some kind of street performance. We exchanged a fury of strikes and blocks, but quickly realized this battle was becoming a stalemate. Commander Joel turned his head and gave a slight nod to his guards. They understood, and a flash of little dots appeared on Mara.

"What are you doing?" Mara demanded. Commander Joel ignored her.

"Surrender or we'll blow your friend to pieces," Commander Joel offered with a wicked laugh.

"Don't listen to him. He doesn't have the right to do this," Mara cried out.

"My apologies, your majesty, but this isn't the palace. This is the real world," Commander Joel taunted. Mara gritted her teeth together. I didn't want to believe that Commander Joel would just kill an innocent person, but his heart said otherwise. This man loved to kill. The feeling of bloodlust was so prevalent inside him that it was overwhelming. I dropped my sword and raised my hands in surrender.

"You win," I mumbled. Commander Joel laughed while his guards bound Mara and I at the wrists. Another recovered my sword and handed it to Commander Joel.

"This is a fine sword. I'll keep it," Commander Joel sneered, sheathing his own sword and admiring mine. The idea that my death was very near in my future was making me feel sick, and I wanted to cry again, but I held it in. As Mara and I were led away, the crowd applauded us. At least my capture had provided entertainment. The guards and Commander Joel took us into the spire- like building, which was well furnished on the inside. I realized it was a hotel when Commander Joel and his guards abandoned us in their room. Commander Joel laid my sword on the bed, just out of reach. Just to be sure we couldn't escape, our ankles were bound as well. As soon as they left the room, saying something about dinner, I burst into tears.

"Do you always cry when the situation seems hopeless?" Mara criticized.

"I can't help it," I sobbed.

"It shows how much faith you have in God," she said. That made me stop for a second. She was right, I needed to prove I was strong, worthy of the gift and plan God had thrust upon me.

"Good point. We have to get out of here," I agreed.

"No kidding," Mara snapped.

"Any ideas?" I asked.

"I came up with the last escape plan. It's your turn," Mara said. We sat there and pondered any possibilities of freedom.

"Let's pray," I suggested.

"Really? Is that even an escape plan?" Mara asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. However, it's like how you said. We have to have faith that God will save us," I explained.

"Fine. Anything is worth a try. Father God, please free us from these bounds," Mara began. She continued to pray out loud while I closed my eyes to pray silently. I did my best to try to feel close to God, to trust He'd be with us. Eventually, Mara 's prayers started to sound like gibberish and it seemed like her voice was whimpering. My eyes flew open to see Mara curled up in the fetal position, eyes closed tight. Tears were flowing from her eyes like a fresh spring.

"Mara are you alright?" I asked, but she didn't seem to hear me. She just kept mumbling whatever she was praying. I took a look at her heart out of curiosity. The colors inside were still dull, but swirled about malevolently. It was almost like they were trapped, desperate to escape the confines of Mara's heart. Something seemed to warn me that her current state had to do with the fact that it had been a while since she had last prayed. Suddenly the entire building began to rattle.

"What's happening?" Mara asked, her eyes opening and her whimpering ceasing. It quickly donned on me.

"Earthquake!" I exclaimed. A crack formed in the ceiling. Mara was desperately trying to wiggle her way out of danger but I felt like I should stay where I was. The crack grew larger until a chunk of ceiling tile fell down and cut straight through the rope around my wrists. My hands now free, I quickly undid the rope around my ankles.

"This is impossible. How did we get this lucky?" Mara stammered as I worked on untying her restraints.

"Luck had nothing to do with it. God is giving us a helping hand," I explained, still working. I quickly took a look at her heart. The colors had reverted to swirling in their almost motionless state, but something seemed different. I couldn't tell or see what it was, but something told me that confusion had formed in Mara's heart. I finished on the bounds on her wrists while I recovered my sword. The earthquake had ended, but my legs felt shaky as I stood up. I nearly collapsed but caught myself on the edge of the bed. My sword had reverted back into a necklace so I had little trouble grabbing it and putting it on.

"Ready to go?" Mara asked, jumping to her feet. She wobbled a bit, trying to keep from tipping over, but was eventually okay. We ran out of the room and down the hall. We decided against the elevator and took the stairs. When we reached the lobby, a woman clad like a secretary came over.

"Are you folks okay?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you," Mara replied quickly, trying to get around the woman. I grabbed her wrist, because I knew it'd look suspicious if we were in such a hurry after what had just happened. I looked around the lobby and was surprised to see that nothing was broken, or even tipped over.

"I hope this incident hasn't ruined your stay. After all, Tyre does get earthquakes quite often," the woman explained.

"Really? I didn't know," I said.

"Yes, but all the buildings are built so that they don't collapse. Well, have a good day," the woman said, before swiftly moving by us and up the stairs. We resumed our running and burst out of the hotel. All across the ground, people were sprawled out, but no damage otherwise was visible in the city.

"That's bizarre. The room we were in almost fell apart completely," Mara said.

"It's a God thing," was all I could say. We raced our way to the port, which was also completely unharmed.

"Look for a small fishing boat," Mara instructed. I finally found it, and we walked over to it. The boat was pure white, and designed to look like a speed boat. A blue canopy hung over the part where the steering wheel was. Two benches, one per side, outlined the rest of the boat. The guy manning the boat had very dark skin and was bald. He was also very tall, easy a head taller than myself. What he wore was the weirdest garb imaginable; it consisted of a pink muscle shirt and a brown dried grass skirt that reached his bare feet.

"Can I help you folks?" he asked, rubbing his hands off on a light blue cloth, which was turning black with grease stains.

"Remember me?' Mara asked. The man stared at her for a while, and then his eyes lit up.

"Mara?" he asked.

"In the flesh," Mara said. The man grabbed her and pulled her into an unnecessarily tight hug.

"Can't breath," Mara gasped. The man released her, smiling earnestly.

"Sorry. It's just been so long," he smiled sheepishly.

"I agree David. First, can you give us a ride to Galilee?" she asked. David gave an eager nod.

"Sure. You got lucky though. This is my last time sailing for today," David said. We climbed aboard while David started the engine. The boat hummed to life, clicking with all kinds of noises. Just as we pulled away, I could see Commander Joel approaching. He ordered his guards to fire, but we were beyond range. The bullets were harmlessly shot into the water. Just to be childish, I stuck my tongue out at Commander Joel.

"I'm going to kill you, imp. You hear me? You're as good as dead," Commander Joel screamed, but his threats were quickly lost to the pounding of the waves against the boat.

"Who was that?" David asked.

"No one dangerous," I replied, with half a grin. Mara and David began to catch up, talking about politics and other boring stuff I didn't understand. As they chatted, I let myself just stare at the ocean's water as it rolled by. My thoughts began to drift and I sunk into a memory.

_It was the first time I had ever been on a boat, or even near any kind of large body of water. The entire time it took us to drive there, I had kept asking where we were going. However, Uncle Saul just kept saying it was a surprise. We soon arrived at a huge lake, in which I couldn't even see the other side._

_ "Wow, it's huge," I breathed. Uncle Saul just laughed. _

_ "That's not the end to the surprise," Uncle Saul said. We went over to a boat rental shack and rented out a tin rowboat. It was small, just barely enough for two people, but I didn't care. I had crawled in before we even got in the water. Uncle Saul forced me to put on a lifejacket, which I wasn't very thrilled about, and then we launched the boat out onto the lake. My uncle was the only one that rowed for an hour or so, while I kept looking in the water, trying to find a fish. I let my hand trail in the water, which was to me, surprisingly colder than the hot humid air around us. _

_ "This is so exciting!" I exclaimed. Uncle Saul then offered me the oars, which I took ahold of._

_ "Want to try?" he asked. I did my best to row us, but only succeeded in making us drift a bit. I gave him the oars and he rowed us back to shore._

"I wouldn't leave your hand in the water. Something might bite it," Mara advised. I realized that my hand had indeed slipped into the water. I quickly withdrew it and let out a yawn.

"Are we almost there?" I asked. Dusk had begun to fall, and I wanted to sleep.

"See for yourself," Mara said. She pointed out on the horizon and saw an island quickly approaching. The closer we got, the better I could see the details. The island was a fair size, though I could see from one end to the other. Pearly white beaches ringed its edges and were studded with palms trees. Gently rolling grassy hills graced the interior, that had a variety of mansions and round-shaped huts that were clearly the homes of the locals.

"Which vacation home is yours?" I asked.

"The huge red one, at the top of the hill," Mara said, pointing to the correct one. The mansion she claimed was hers was much larger than the others, and equally as elegant. The walls were held up by huge pillars, with sections of red painted walls in between. The room gradually sloped into a dome, with a tall spire sticking out the top that glittered gold. Overall, it better resembled a temple than a summer home.

"You're lying," I accused.

"I am not," Mara pouted. We pulled into a dock and I was the first to disembark. The ride had been long and boring. I'm not the seafaring type. A group of people began to gather around us, obviously locals, with the same dark skin as David. The men were dressed exactly like David, wearing grass skirts and pink muscle shirts. The women were dressed similarly, except their grass skirts covered their feet, and they wore regular T-shirts that were more maroon-colored.

"Make way, make way," a cackling voice cried out. An old woman was working her way through the crowd, flanked by two old men. All three used an ornamentally carved staff that had been polished smoother than glass to walk.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"The elders who rule this nation. Show some respect," Mara snapped. The elders approached, and I could get an easy look at them. The old woman was extremely short, and had a square head. Her eyes were squinted so much they looked shut. The old man on the left was bald but had a beard and mustache that extended down to his waist, like he'd never heard of shaving. The last man, on the right, had no beard and had short white hair, but wore an eye patch for some reason.

"Mara, it is good to see you again," the female elder greeted, opening her arms in invitation for embrace. Mara bent down to give the old lady a hug.

"Elder Bathsheba, I'd like you to meet Amos," Mara introduced me, which I would have preferred to have done myself.

"Is your father with you?" Bathsheba asked.

"No, not this time," Mara said. Bathsheba nodded at that and quickly turned her attention to me. The Elder's eyes opened slightly more than before and she stared straight into mine. An uneasiness crept over me, but I couldn't pull away from Bathsheba's gaze.

"You appear to be one God has graciously given much mercy to," Bathsheba concluded.

"Thank you," I said, stunned. I couldn't decipher how the Elder had figured out what my gift was.

"However, you clearly have no idea how to properly use or even the limits of your gift," Bathsheba continued.

"Forget the last thing I said," I sighed. Bathsheba turned to the other Elders and they began discussing things in hushed tones. Bathsheba then turned her attention back to me.

"After some debate with Elder Josias and Elder Habel, I have decided it would be wisest for me to teach you about the Gift of Mercy. Perhaps not everything I know, but enough that it will do you much good in the near future," Bathsheba explained.

"With that, we must retire for the night. Come along Elder Habel and Elder Bathsheba," the Elder with the long beard, Elder Josias, advised. The trio hobbled through the crowd. The crowd dispersed, people occasionally greeting Mara, which seemed more of a formality.

"Time for us to go to my home," Mara announced, and we began the hike inland.

"What does Bathsheba..." I started.

"Elder Bathsheba," Mara corrected.

"Right, Elder Bathsheba know about the Gift of Mercy?" I asked.

"Well, I assume a lot, because that is her gift after all," Mara said. I sighed, defeated, and continued to follow. It was completely dark by the time we arrived. The summer mansion was even bigger than it had seemed from off shore. The entrance was flanked by a pair of bronze doors, that easily extended twenty feet up.

"This place is huge. Are you sure we'll be okay here?" I asked. Mara was poking around in a potted plant that sat by the door.

"Got it!" she exclaimed, holding up a bronze key. She slid the key into its keyhole and turned it. There were many large thuds, like metal bracers being moved out of the way. With a brief hiss, the door slowly opened with an ominous creak.

"That's creepy," I whimpered.

"After you," Mara insisted, shoving me into the dark foyer.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you, those of you who continue to read the story. It's still got a while to go, but as of right now, it's about half over. Please continue to read it and review, as always.

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Chapter VII

I fumbled around, bumping into random furniture until Mara hit the light switch. The light blazed to life, revealing the grand interior of the mansion.

"Whoa," I breathed. The foyer was painted completely white. A beautifully woven rug depicting cherubs surrounding a cross that was draped with some kind of sash extended from the door to the foot of a solid gold throne. The throne sat underneath a balcony that could be accessed by stairs on either side of the room. Two passage ways were open on either side of the throne, but they were too dark to see where they led. Red couches that matched the hues of the rug sat perpendicular to it.

"Stop gawking and come on," Mara ordered. I followed her up the stairs and down a hall located just beyond the balcony. The hall was painted a forest green, had a hard wood floor, and smelled faintly of pines. Doors appeared every couple steps, but they were all closed. The wall space not covered by a door held paintings and the floor space held elegantly carved tables with antiques sitting on top. Several of the antiques were ancient pots that were easily thousands of years old or old-fashioned clocks. However, it was fairly clear that no one had visited the mansion in a long time. Everything was covered in a fine layer of dust and some of the paintings looked cracked.

"When was the last time you were here?" I asked.

"I don't know. Six, maybe seven years ago," Mara responded, keeping her eyes straight ahead. I didn't know where we were going, but eventually the hallway began to widen and doors became sparser. We turned down another corridor and stopped at a certain room.

"What's in here?" I asked.

"You can stay here. Feel free to use any of the clothes in the closet. I'll be in the room further down the hall, and at the end is the kitchen," Mara explained. With that, Mara left me alone. I entered the room to discover it was even more luxurious than the foyer had been. The walls were colored gold, with a green vine design snaking along them. There was a closet that was full of clothes that were perfectly sized. The bed was huge, covered in a shiny comforter that matched the walls. The pillows kept in theme with the room and were embroidered to resemble bamboo. A night stand on each side of the bed cradled a potted bamboo. I changed into a pair of long khakis, but decided to keep the jacket and shirt of the Evangelics.

"Father God, thank you for protecting us thus far and allowing us a safe trip here. Please continue to protect me and help me with my gift, Amen," I prayed, kneeling at the foot of my bed. I crawled into bed and passed out. The next morning, sunlight shone in through the bamboo decorated curtains. I got up and wandered around the halls until I managed to locate the kitchen. The kitchen would have fit in at a five star restaurant just fine. The refrigerator was industrial- sized and there were multiple ovens and stove tops. The whole room was grey, with granite countertops.

"Morning," Mara greeted. She was sitting at the island that was in the middle, drinking something from a mug. She had changed her clothes to match what she had been wearing the day I had met her. It was exactly the same type of robe, with gold trim, but minus all the rips and tears.

"Same," I replied, grabbing an apple out of the fruit basket located on the island to eat.

"Ready for your training session?" Mara asked.

"What are you talking about?" I said, more focused on my breakfast. The apple was really crisp, much better than any I had ever eaten.

"Don't you remember last night? Bathsheba is going to train you in your gift," Mara explained.

"That old lady?" I asked. Mara gave me her vicious glare, but I had gotten used to it.

"Yes, her. Show some respect. She has been more help to me than you know," Mara defended the Elder. I raised my arms in surrender.

"Fine, I'll go. How are we supposed to get there?" I asked.

"There's a trail from behind the house that leads down to the village," Mara said. We sat there in a few more moments of awkward silence.

"So what's with the throne?' I asked, genuinely curious. It wasn't a normal thing to have around a house, or even a mansion.

"Oh, that thing? It's just here because my father is kind of arrogant," Mara responded.

"Is that why you want revenge on him?" I questioned, hoping to learn a bit more about Mara.

"It's not exactly that. It's more of the fact that my father thinks he can avoid the inevitable, but I'm going to prove him wrong," Mara summarized. That didn't really tell me much, but made me even more curious.

"Okay, so what if..." I started but Mara cut me off.

"It's time for you to go. Just go down this hallway, turn left and follow the main corridor to the end. Go down the stairs and out the back. The trail shouldn't be hard to find," Mara directed.

"Anything else I should know?" I checked.

"It's pretty warm out. I wouldn't wear your jacket," Mara advised. I noted that and left for my lesson. On the way out, I stopped at my room to drop off my jacket. Unfortunately, I had to check several of the doors until I figured out which was mine. Each room seemed to have a different theme, such as the ocean or even fire. I finally found my room and left my jacket. I was glad Mara had warned me, because as soon as I had meandered my way out of the house I was blasted with an intense heat that sharply contrasted with the coolness of the mansion. The backyard had a massive pool, complete with water slide and diving boards of varying heights. I ignored my temptation to jump into the inviting water fully clothed and instead located the trail. I walked along a dirt path that wove between the many rolling hills and observed how peacefully the grass swayed in the breeze on this partially cloudy day. The ocean glimmered, which made me think of how I had never been to the beach.

"I wish I could relax instead of train," I mumbled. I didn't understand why I had to train. This place was paradise, and I figured as long as I stayed here, I'd never be in danger from the Imperial Army. I could live out my life, and never worry about the prophecy. It was then that I realized that would also mean I couldn't save my family and friends. I had almost completely forgotten that they were going to be sold to the slave trade. How had I forgotten? What if they were already there?

_ They are still safe, but realize what must be done_. I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit echo inside of me. I could no longer avoid the prophecy. I would have to defeat the King and complete the prophecy if I was going to save them all. That gave me a new determination, with courage replacing my fear. I finally reached the village, and despite my inspiring self-realization, I was drenched in fear–based sweat. The village was full of almost identical houses. The homes were rounded huts, seemingly made out of mud. The doors were built from driftwood and the roofs were made out of woven grass, giving the whole place a primitive feel. Each house was only distinct from the next because of how they were painted, with each one different. Some had artfully-depicted scenery of religious scenes, while others seemed to sport randomly splashed colors. I realized I didn't have the slightest clue as to which structure was Bathsheba's home. I knocked on the closest door.

"What? What do you want?" a raspy voice yelled from behind the door. The door swung open to reveal an old man that I recognized as Elder Habel from the previous night's encounter. He had been the only one who hadn't said anything.

"Sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for Elder Bathsheba's house," I started to say.

"I remember you. You came along with the Princess," Habel interrupted.

"Princess? You mean Mara?" I asked.

"Yeah, her. It seems you don't know who she really is. Kids these days, always so oblivious to everything," Habel grumbled.

"Who she really is?" I asked, very confused.

"I swear, if I wasn't one hundred and ten, I'd give you a good thump on the head to jog your memory," Habel complained.

"A hundred and ten?" I said with disbelief. Sure this man was old, but surely not that old.

"You bet your good legs I am. Bathsheba's been around even longer than me; she's a hundred and twenty -seven. Anyway, good luck boy," Habel said. He slammed his door shut in my face before I could say anything more. I sighed and went to another house to get pointed in the right direction. Fortunately, the occupants of the next hut were eternally more helpful, and able to point out the hut Elder Bathsheba lived in. It was one on the edge of the village, and was painted with a scene that resembled the gates of Heaven. Numerous angels in white clothing were gathered around a golden gate, tending to various things. The gate itself decorated with various gemstones. After staring at the picture, I finally knocked and Bathsheba answered the door.

"Good, you came. I was beginning to suspect you wouldn't," Bathsheba said, waving me inside. The inside of the hut was not much more glamourous than the outside. The floor was covered in rough tapestry that had ranging colors and designs. A wooden bed was pushed against one side of the hut, while a fire burned in a pit located in the middle of the floor. The smoke rose up through a hole in the middle of the roof. Elder Bathsheba invited me to sit down around the fire.

"Are you really 127 years old?" was the first thing out of my mouth." Bathsheba laughed a bit, which sounded like shallow breathing.

"Indeed I am. You must've spoken with Elder Habel. Before we begin, would you like to ask me anything," Bathsheba offered.

"Just one thing. How'd you know about my gift," I asked.

"As a fellow holder of the Gift of Mercy, you understand that you have the ability to read another person's heart, correct?" Bathsheba said.

"Yes," I confirmed.

"I see that you have not had your gift for very long, so it is understandable that you would not know this. A person's heart is not just their emotional state, which is what you see. A person's heart is formed through their experiences, opinions, and natural abilities. In essence, the heart is like a blueprint of someone. The heart, like a blueprint, has many layers and details. You've begun to experience these layers as you've come to identify areas of darkness in people's hearts. Things such as jealousy and anger, and you have tried to help them. I was able to discern what your gift was by reading the history part of your heart, the doubts you have in yourself, and your fears," Bathsheba explained.

"Wow. I did not know that," I breathed.

"Of course not. It has taken me years to discover it for myself," Bathsheba grinned.

"That can't be the only thing you wanted to teach me," I surmised. Bathsheba gave me a nod.

"Besides refining your reading abilities, I also want to teach you to shield your heart," Bathsheba said.

"Do what now?" I asked.

"Shield your heart. Here, try to read my heart," Bathsheba challenged. I focused on the Elder, but for some reason the image of her heart would not conjure up as effortlessly as I was accustomed. I tried focusing all my mental attention on Bathsheba until my head began to pound from the effort.

"I'm sorry Elder Bathsheba, I can't," I sighed, feeling defeated.

"Don't feel bad. Its required a great deal of self-discipline to get a shield as strong as mine. However, I will train you to do the same," Bathsheba said.

"How?" I asked.

"Follow me," Bathsheba ordered. She began to hobble her way out of her hut and down the hill. I followed until she sat down where the grassy hill met the sandy beach. She closed her eyes.

"Sit down?" I asked. Bathsheba nodded.

"You are going to meditate now. Connect to God, find comfort in His Word," Bathsheba instructed. I closed my eyes and let the Elder's words wash over me. I felt comfort and peace begin to fill me, despite my fears, which seemed to shrink and almost fade. I wanted to release them but my flesh seemed to hold on to them. I began to let my mind flow with verses from the Bible along with their meanings. This seemed to diminish the fear further, but yet it would not fade completely.

"Why won't it go away?" I mumbled.

"Sometimes it is hard to let go of everything. Don't worry, it will disappear with time. For now, try shielding your heart. Pray to God that He will surround your heart with protection, and a shield," Bathsheba encouraged.

"God, protect not only my physical being, but my heart too. Wrap it in Your word so that it may form a barrier so that none may see it except You," I prayed quietly, letting the words flow from my mouth, like they were beyond my control. When I finally opened my eyes, Bathsheba was now standing.

"Well done. I cannot read your heart. You've created quite a strong shield," Bathsheba congratulated.

"Thanks. I feel really relaxed," I said.

"That is because you put much more of your faith in Jesus and God than you normally do. Now, just remember that prayer anytime you feel it necessary to shield your heart," Bathsheba explained.

"So what now?" I asked, rising to my feet.

"Now we refine your other current abilities," Bathsheba said. We returned to her hut to continue training. Bathsheba allowed me to view her heart so I could practice identifying different emotions. The Elder's heart was surprisingly clean, since she had come to terms with her pain and no longer suffered petty emotions. However, there was one speck of a black spot which was minute worry for the future of her people. We stopped for lunch, in which I ordered freshly roasted fish. We got them from some of the local fisherman, who dropped them off around noon. Apparently, Bathsheba claimed they had caught them with their bare hands, which I didn't really believe. About an hour after lunch, Bathsheba dismissed me from the training section.

"Thank you for everything," I acknowledged, honoring the Elder with a bow, which was not something I would do willingly very often.

"No need to. It was my responsibility to teach you. Remember it well, because I feel we may not get another chance to speak," Bathsheba said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You shall see soon enough," Bathsheba said. As I walked back to the mansion along the dirt trail, what Bathsheba had said nagged at the back of my mind. In order to try to forget it, I tried to let my mind wander into a memory, which I was fortunately able to do.

_It was raining and I was trapped at Uncle Saul's mechanic shop, which wasn't a particularly a bad thing. The shop was shaped like a cement box with two garage doors leading to the area where the levias actually got worked on. The front lot was full of old levias that were my uncle's "projects" and that he occasionally sold for extra money. _

_ "Uncle Saul, when am I going to get my Spiritual Gift?" I asked, being a ten year old sitting on the edge of Uncle Saul's work desk while he was filling out paper work. My friend from school had just gotten his gift, though I couldn't recall what it was. All I knew was that he kept bragging about how great it was._

_ "When God feels the time is right," Uncle Saul answered without looking up from his work._

_ "But I want mine now!" I whined._

_ "I won't be in too much of a rush if I were you. Spiritual Gifts can be tricky to get control of, and can even sometimes hurt you if you can't handle them," Uncle Saul warned._

_ "I hope I get the Gift of Prophecy like Daddy had," I said, carelessly swinging my legs._

_ "That would be cool. You'd be like your sister," Uncle Saul agreed. _

_That radically changed my opinion on what gift I wanted._

_ "Do you know what Mommy's gift was?" I asked. Uncle Saul stopped his work for a moment, like he had started thinking about something depressing. He resumed his work before he responded to my question. _

_ "Sorry Amos, I don't know," Uncle Amos said _

_ "That's okay," I forgave him, though deep down I really wanted to know. I leapt off his desk and went to splash in puddles instead to entertain myself._

With a start, I realized I really didn't know what my mother's gift had been. I began to wonder if I had gotten her gift, but that was impossible. There was no way my mother had been killed because of the King's decree. However, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed likely. It was pretty common place for Spiritual Gifts to be passed down. It didn't seem like much of a stretch to say I had gotten my mother's gift. When I finally arrived back at the mansion, I was surprised to see Mara lounging on a beach chair outside around the pool, still fully clothed in her robe, reading a book.

"How are you doing that? It's as hot as the surface of the sun out here," I complained. Mara lowered her book and glared at me.

"This robe is functional for all seasons. I'm completely comfortable," Mara countered.

"Whatever. I'm finally done with my lessons for today," I explained.

"That's good. Learn anything?" Mara asked, turning to resume reading her book.

"Yeah, quite a lot actually," I said, then proceeding to explain all I had learned. I also told her about my realization on the trail.

"Wait, what does this realization mean?" Mara questioned, though her eyes said that she didn't want to hear the answer.

"We have to go to Jericho, so I can rescue my family and friends," I announced. Mara looked like she was ready to tackle me and choke me to death.

"Seriously? Wouldn't that mean you have to fulfill that prophecy?" Mara warned.

"Unfortunately, yes," I replied. Mara sighed and stood up.

"So be it, even if my father does live there. When are we leaving?" she asked. I was kind of surprised Mara wasn't getting all angry at me, but I pushed my surprise out of my mind.

"I don't know. A few days," I suspected.

"That sounds like a good plan. It gives me a more time to prepare some food and stuff to take with us, and for you to get more lessons from Elder Bathsheba," Mara agreed.

"On that note, I'm going to get something to eat," I said, running into the house. I quickly realized that I had no idea where I was going until I found myself back in the foyer. A strong temptation came over me to sitting on the throne. I began to sneak up to the throne, hesitating every so often to make sure I wasn't going to trigger any kind of traps. I finally made it and sat down. Despite the chair being made completely of metal, it was incredibly comfortable. I felt like true royalty. Suddenly, the front door burst open, and David stumbled inside.

"Please, where is Mara?" he asked. He was breathing very heavily and his brow was coated in sweat, like he'd run the whole way to the mansion.

"She's out back," I answered.

"Can you lead me?" he requested. I obeyed, but not without first helping him to his feet. We maneuvered our way through the hallways, even though I had to keep David from collapsing of exhaustion several times. When we finally reached Mara, David almost tripped over himself and would have went head first into the pool. Fortunately, I caught him.

"David, are you okay?" Mara panicked, instantly jumping to her feet and out of her chair.

"No time. Elder Bathsheba has just passed away," David heaved. At that Mara nearly wilted, and I was afraid I'd have to catch her too.


	8. Chapter 8

A new chapter, right on schedule. As always, enjoy the story and be sure to comment/review.

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Chapter VIII

Mara and I helped David into a room just inside the mansion, where he fell asleep. We then left him and rushed along the path toward the village.

"How could this have happened?" Mara kept muttering to herself. I couldn't help but think about the last thing Elder Bathsheba had said to me.

"So that's what she meant," I murmured under my breath. I thought Mara might not of heard me, but she stopped dead in her tracks.

"You knew this was going to happen?" Mara accused, tackling me. We tumbled down the side of the hill a little ways until she ended up on top of me. The anger on her face and in her heart was as clear as day.

"I didn't realize it then, but what she said makes sense now," I stammered, trying to maneuver myself out from underneath her. I quickly explained what Elder Bathsheba had said to me. Mara breathed out a frustrated sigh.

"It figures she would tell you, the only one too clueless to understand what she meant," Mara grumbled. We resumed our journey down to the village. When we got there, it seemed almost barren. All the houses had their doors flung open, and there was nobody lingering in doorways or wandering around.

"Where is everyone?" I wondered aloud. We finally found everybody gathered around Bathsheba's house. Mara began pushing everyone out of the way, despite their protests. I followed, apologizing for her rudeness.

"Where is she? Where is Elder Bathsheba," Mara demanded once we made it inside. Bathsheba was laying on her bed, looking like she was asleep instead of dead, and a flood of guilt washed over me. The Elder's eyes were closed and a seemingly mischievous smile was engrained across her lips. Mara ignored the other two Elders who flanked Bathsheba, both with stony expressions upon their faces, and knelt by Bathsheba. Suddenly, Mara just burst into tears. I was fairly sure Mara had never looked as vulnerable as she did now. Habel locked eyes with me and pointed with a crooked finger.

"You. This is your fault," he snapped. The fellow Elder, Josias, just looked at his companion with an annoyed glance.

"It is not," I retorted. First Mara had accused me, now this crazy person of an Elder.

"The boy is most certainly not at fault here," Josias sighed.

"He was the last one sighted with her," Habel argued.

"We saw Elder Bathsheba alive and well even after this young man had left. He is not the guilty party," Josias said.

"But..." Habel began to protest, but Josias raised his hand to silence him. Habel bit is lip and quit talking. Mara finally looked up, her eyes red and raw and her nose running.

"When will she be buried?" Mara asked. Josias considered her question for a few moments.

"Tomorrow, at the crack of dawn," he finally decided. Habel didn't look too pleased at the decision, but nodded in agreement none the less.

"Very well," Mara said, giving Bathsheba one more sad look. Suddenly, the air was filled with the bellowing of alarms. They echoed everywhere making it impossible to tell where they were coming from.

"What's happening?" Josias shouted, doing his best to be heard over all the noise. I don't believe anyone heard him, except me because I was standing nearby. We all ran outside to see the villagers all running around in a panic, trying to get into their homes. It had become dark, but the village was being overwhelmed by multiple spotlights that shone with the same intensity as the sun.

"Up there," Mara yelled, pointing upwards. Military-style levias floated over the village, and for a moment I got scared it was Commander Joel. Then I realized these weren't built in the same way. They were much sleeker, albeit much wider. Men began dropping down on ropes. Several of them ran about, securing perimeters with large metal rods. Once all the rods had been placed in the ground, a blue ribbon of light shot out from each side, connecting all the rods. A man approached, and although he wore no symbol that marked him, his aura of power showed he was clearly the leader.

"My name is Yalown, Supreme General of the Catholic Empire. Apologies about the forcefield. Standard procedure," the man said. Yalown was very tall, and muscular, and appeared to be significantly younger than Commander Joel. He had red hair carved into a crew cut. He wore what I assumed was standard Catholic military uniform. It consisted of a thick -soled black boots, baggy green pants, and a similarly baggy green jacket. Both the pants and jacket were no doubt able to change color to match whatever the terrain the army was fighting in. They had bracelets like the ones soldier in New Canaan had, only much bulkier. Additionally, they had two leather straps that ran from their shoulders, crossed over, went behind their back, and crossed again. Mounted on their shoulders were two cannon shaped objects, designed to shoot purple lasers capable of cutting through steel.

"What gives you hot-headed conquerors the right to invade our island anyway?" Habel growled at Yalown. Josias raised his hand once again to silence his comrade.

"Peace Habel. You are well aware as I am how capable the Catholic Empire is at destroying us," Josias said.

"Thank you Elder Josias. Now, I wish to inquire where Elder Bathsheba is," Yalown said.

"I'm sorry, but she very recently passed away," Josias murmured. A shadow seemed to fall across Yalown's eyes, which should've been impossible with the spotlight directly over us. I took the opportunity to peer into Yalown's heart. It was filled with pride, so much so that it had reached the point of arrogance. I also found hints of jealousy.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Yalown commented.

"Death to the physical body is inevitable. Now, what is your purpose in coming here? If I am not mistaken, Galilee has a treaty with the Catholic Empire," Josias asked.

"You are correct in your statement, and we stand by that treaty. However, while we are not here to invade, we have come here to claim something," Yalown explained.

"You won't take me alive!" Habel screamed before running off like a lunatic. Josias sighed and lowered his forehead into his palm. Then he remembered his company and regained his composure. "What is it you would like to acquire?" Josias asked.

"According to the information the army received, apparently the bane of New Canaan is here," Yalown said.

"What do you mean bane?" I asked, though I kind of figured Yalown was referring to me.

"The person of that prophecy, the one with the Gift of Mercy. You'd think you'd have heard of that," Yalown detailed.

"Of course I've heard it, because I am that person," I announced. Instead of some kind of grand reaction, Yalown just stared in dismay.

"Are you joking?" he asked, looking at Josias for an explanation.

"He's not lying," Josias reassured the Supreme General. A surprised look quickly disappeared from his eyes as he began to scrutinize me, like a critic would a painting. He did a double take at Mara, whom he seemed to recognize. Eventually, he stood up straight into his proper military posture.

"So be it. Come along you two," Yalown ordered. Mara gave Josias a hug, as it appeared we were leaving. Reluctantly, we followed Yalown over to one of the many ropes hanging down from the levias. At the bottom was a cast iron handle, which Yalown offered to me. I took a hold of it as Yalown led Mara over to another. Suddenly, I was flying up in the air, being hoisted up to the levia above. The deck of the levia was mostly flat with a single bubble toward the front for a few passengers and the driver to sit. The sides of the levia deck had railings running along them, so soldiers could harness themselves and move about freely during full speed flight. Wind whipped around us as two Catholic soldiers helped Mara and I aboard.

"Welcome," the one greeted. The other looked down, and seemed to be looking for some kind of signal.

"Thanks," I grumbled, starting to feel cranky from tiredness. Mara had been silent the whole time, clearly still sad from Bathsheba's death. I was going to try to comfort her, when the second soldier turned to his partner.

"The General gave the signal. It's time to pack up and go," he ordered. The first soldier gave a brief nod and herded Mara and I toward the cockpit. There were two rows of seats and the floor was see- through, so I was able to peer down on the island. The soldiers sat in the front to drive. The seats were relatively comfortable, and Mara and I were provided with blankets. One by one, the spotlights disappeared and the force field was pulled down. Men retreated to their levias and took off over the horizon. Slowly, the entire island of Galilee sunk into darkness as our levia too left it behind. I quickly slipped into sleep hoping to free myself of the anxiety that was creeping up on me. Also, fortunately, another memory found me.

_I was very young again, walking alongside my mother and Ruth on the street side. She held my hand, just to be sure I wouldn't try to escape and go off on my own adventure. I had once had a habit of desiring such things. My sister was bound by her other hand. The only person missing was my father, but he was probably working as a professor at a school for prophets._

_ "Do you know where I want to travel to?" I said randomly, my young mind excited to see what my mother would guess._

_ "I bet I can guess," Ruth chirped, peeking around my mother's legs._

_ "No! I want Mommy to guess!" I cried out. My mother chuckled a bit._

_ "Calm down you two. Okay, let's see. Is it warm or cold there?" my mother asked._

_ "Cold," I replied cheerfully, eager to play her game. My mother asked several more questions, with Ruth chiming in occasionally._

_ "Okay, I guess you want to visit the beach," my mother guessed._

_ "Silly Mommy. I want to visit the Catholic Empire," I announced. I had learned of it in school and had been fascinated by the kind of weather they had there._

_ "Oh I wouldn't want to visit there. Your Daddy thinks that the Empire is going to overrun New Canaan. Now whether that is prophecy or __an__ opinion, I don't have the slightest clue. _

I was suddenly jolted awake by the intense shudder of the entire levia. I sat up, realizing Mara was using my shoulder as pillow. I shook her awake. Streaks of dawn were just starting to appear.

"What happened?" I asked. Both the soldiers had a panic look, but they did their best to remain calm.

"Oh nothing that's a big deal," the driving soldier answered. The levia shuddered again and let loose a groaning sound.

"It's obviously something," I countered.

"Okay, fine. We are being shot at by another levia," the other soldier explained. I glanced out the top of the cockpit to confirm his story. Sure enough, I saw with my own eyes, a much bulkier levia that was clearly from New Canaan's army. The cannons were shooting a barrage of energy bombs onto the deck of our levia. Where ever the bombs hit, they left smoking craters. Something inside me guessed that Commander Joel had either ordered this, or was personally driving. My suspicions were confirmed when a voice layered with static came bursting out of our levia's radio.

"Hand over the imp, or we shall destroy the ship," Commander Joel's very distinct voice screeched.

"The imp?" the soldier not driving asked.

"He's referring to me," I explained.

"That makes sense. I'll take care of this," the same soldier decided, and reached under the seat to pull out a nylon harness. I reached out and grabbed ahold of it.

"No, I've got this," I said confidently. I was sick of Commander Joel's antics. Energy flowed through my veins, and part of me wanted to say it was just me, but I knew it was God lending me a hand.

"Are you sure? You don't seem to have any weapons," the soldier argued. I gripped my necklace with my free hand.

"Trust me, I'll be fine," I reassured. The soldier nodded and let me have the harness. The cockpit slid open and I climbed out. Immediately I hooked the harness and began my wobbly walk across the deck.

"Good luck," the soldier shouted to me, though his words were mostly lost in the roaring wind, before closing the cockpit. I maneuvered myself to where I was clearly visible and summoned my sword. The searing pain shot up my arm, though not as bad as any other time I had summoned it.

"Commander Joel! Can you see me? You'll never be rid of me!" I taunted, even if the evil man couldn't see me. The cannons trained on me, but I knew I was too small of a target to hit accurately. I slid out of the way as a cannon shot hit where I had once been standing, sending metal chunks flying. After three or four more failed shots, Commander Joel gave up trying to shoot me and instead turned to ramming his levia into ours. It was the opportunity I had been waiting for. I leapt at the enemy levia and stabbed my sword straight into it. I slid down the side, carving a huge gash in it. Sparks flew from the gash, and the entire levia trembled violently. It then began to turn and twist erratically until it spun into a nosedive. I now hung by only my harness, with barely a grip on my sword, in midair. Commander Joel's levia disappeared behind us, and soon one of the soldiers came out on another harness and assisted me up.

"Good job," he congratulated me, helping me back into the cockpit. Once I was back inside the adrenaline ran out and I was smacked by extreme drowsiness. I drifted to sleep, sword still in hand. When I awoke, my sword had transformed back into my necklace. I slipped it back around my neck. It was fully daylight now.

"Are we almost there?" I asked, checking the floor window to make sure the scenery hadn't already answered my question. The ground as well as the leafless trees were coated in a fine layer of snow.

"Just wait ten minutes," the driving soldier suggested. The city suddenly came into view. The buildings were all different from Tyre or Galilee. They were all works of art, built of white marble. Each one was box shaped, supported by columns of varying sizes and styles. Some buildings had domes as roofs, while others had different shapes or didn't even have a roof. The buildings were designed to be more wide than tall.

"What's the name of the city?" I asked.

"This is Vatican State, the capitol of the Catholic Empire," Mara narrated. It was the first time I had heard her speak in a while, and it was nice to hear. Our levia landed down by another levia in an open field, with a huge estate at the one end, while the rest continued over the city.

"I appreciate the ride," I thanked the soldiers as Mara and I descended off the levia using ropes. We waved good bye as the levia resumed flight and disappeared behind buildings. Yalown walked over to greet us, having just gotten down from his own levia.

"Welcome to Vatican State. Now, let's get you inside to see His Holiness," Yalown instructed. He led us inside. The inside had its walls and floors decorated with mosaics that depicted various scenery. The ceiling had been painted in many bright colors, but seemed to follow no discernible pattern. Eventually we reached a room and Yalown led us inside. The room looked like an ordinary conference room, except for a huge window that showed a large expanse of the city. The table was made of some kind of black wood, most likely ebony. An elderly man sat at the head of the table. He wore a white cloak over top a business suit, and had a hat that was white with a gold cross embroidered on it. It was vaguely cylinder- shaped but came to a point. The man also wore a gold ring with a large ruby on his left hand. Mara and Yalown immediately knelt, and I followed suit. I'd be a fool not to recognize Pope John the 19th.

"Please rise," the Pope requested. I followed what he asked. He had a voice that was inviting, the kind that would make little kids want to crawl on his lap and hear a story.

"I believe there is someone here you know," Yalown said, pointing to a figure I hadn't noticed in the corner. Tobias stood there, with a grumpy expression. I was caught off guard to see him. He wore crooked black glasses, and his hair was even longer and more unkempt then the last time I had seen him.

"Take a seat," the Pope invited. We all did, including Yalown. Tobias sat to my left, and Mara to my right.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. He gave me an irritated look, which I took as an invitation to look into his heart. It was full of much rage, so much so it frightened me. I wasn't sure, but it felt directed at me. Jealousy and confusion were also present, but still relatively minor compared to all the anger.

"Why do you think?" Tobias snapped.

"Please, Tobias. Your friend does not know how you have come to be here. Would you care to explain?" the Pope asked calmly. Tobias relented.

"Fine. After you abandoned the town and we were all imprisoned, I managed to escape. I stole one of the soldier's bracelets and managed to bust open my cell. Unfortunately, I couldn't free anyone else, including Lydia," Tobias grumbled, clenching his fist tightly.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked in a panic. I prayed that everyone was still safe and in good health. I cared especially for Ruth and Uncle Saul.

"They're all fine. However, in week or so they are going to be sold in the slave trade market. That's why I'm here. I'm going to save them all. I hope that's why you're here too," Tobias snapped, giving me a death glare like it was my fault. The glare itself was not as scary as Mara's, but was up there in rank.

"Peace people. However, that is the point for being here. Supreme General Yalown, would you care to explain?" the Pope cut in. Yalown tapped on the desk and a scale model hologram of Jericho flickered to life on top of the table, complete with its huge walls.

"My pleasure. The Catholic Empire has long been trying to conquer New Canaan but fails every time at taking the capitol city of Jericho," Yalown said.

"Makes sense. Those walls are so high that a levia can barely get over them," Mara snorted, leaning back in her chair. Yalown didn't look particularly pleased with her statement.

"Yes, as she said, the walls have been our main problems. However, we have developed a solution to this issue," Yalown commented. He gave a whistle and a soldier came rushing in, deposited something on the table, then left.

"What is that?" Tobias asked before I could say the same thing. It was shaped like an animal horn, but had been modified to operate as a trumpet. Yalown gingerly picked it up.

"This is our newest weapon, the Sonic Blaster. After it is charged for seven days, it is capable of unleashing a sound wave so powerful that it can destroy a levia over ten miles away. It should be more than powerful enough to destroy the Jericho walls," Yalown explained. I had to catch my breath for a moment. That weapon was incredibly powerful, beyond imagination.

"Amazing," Mara breathed.

"How many of these do you have?" Tobias asked.

"I'd say around eight or nine. Just in case one blast wouldn't be enough," Yalown guessed.

"So why do you need me?" I asked. They were completely capable of breaking down the walls without me, and they had more than enough soldiers to fight in the oncoming war.

"Due to your prophesied future, you'll be the one who dissuades the New Canaan army from fighting," Yalown said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, though I pretty much knew what the answer would be.

"You kill their leader, the King, they won't want to fight," Yalown confirmed the plan. It made terrible sense, and I didn't want to do it. However, I did have to save my family and friends.

"It is your choice as to whether you want to do it or not," the Pope offered. I glanced at Mara. We had dragged each other along the whole time, and I hoped she'd come along with me.

"It doesn't matter to me. I'll be accompanying of course," Mara shrugged, giving me the answer I had wanted.

"You have yourself a deal," I agreed.

"Excellent," Yalown cheered.

"Very good indeed. Now, the invasion is tomorrow, but enough of this war talk for tonight. How about you go enjoy yourselves at the festival that is going on tonight," the Pope suggested.

"Festival?" Mara's eyes lit up.


	9. Chapter 9

This is my favorite chapter, or perhaps my second favorite, after the climax chapter. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter, and please read and review.

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Chapter IX

"Yes, of course. We have many festivals. Lucky for you, there is one today. I even put some traditional clothes for you in your room Miss," the Pope explained.

"With that, are we dismissed?" Tobias asked.

"Yes. Yalown, show the other two to their rooms," the Pope requested.

"Follow me," Yalown beckoned and Mar and I followed him down the hall. Before we left, the Pope handed me a handful of coins.

"So you can enjoy yourself," the Pope winked at me. As we walked down the hall, I decided to ask Yalown about the festival.

"So what is the purpose of it?" I asked.

"Of what?" Yalown responded.

"The festival."

"Oh, that. I don't really know anymore to be honest. We have so many of them that the only person who can really keep track is His Holiness," Yalown said. Suddenly, we stopped at a door. Like many of the others in the building, it was colored marble, with a carefully carved fish ingrained into it. I entered the room, into which Yalown directed, while he pointed out Mara's room across the hall. The inside was completely white marble, just like the outside. The bed appeared to have been built into the floor, because the base was all white marble. A sink and mirror sat along a bar that ran along the near end of the room. A closet was opposite the bed. A glass door led to a balcony that gave a great view of the front half of Vatican State. The city must have been built on a hill, because you could tell the city was sloping. Far below, the streets were lined with lights of a multitude of colors. Food-ladened stalls, which gave off delicious smells, also covered every free inch of wall. Large wooden platforms sat at intersections on which you could see people dancing. I could vaguely hear the cheerful music from my perch. My curiosity was piquing. I quickly scrubbed my face off and checked the closet to see if there was anything worth wearing. Unfortunately, it was filled with fine suits and similar fancy getups that I would never wear by freewill. I decided to just wear what I had on and left the room.

"Hey, Mara, are you ready to go?" I knocked on her door. There was no reply and I waited for about ten minutes. When there was still no response, I just gave up waiting for her and proceeded to head out to the festival by myself. It was after wandering for a bit that it occurred to me that I had no idea where I was going. Suddenly, I turned the corner and nearly ran head-on into Tobias.

"Oh, hey Amos," Tobias greeted, stumbling back a few steps. He quickly put his hands behind his back, like he was trying to hide something. I didn't really think much of it at the time.

"Hey. Do you know how to get out to the street?" I asked. Tobias pointed back down the hallway from which he came. "Just follow it until the end. That's where the main entrance is," Tobias suggested. I peered down the hallway and decided I didn't really have a better alternative. When I turned back to thank him, Tobias was gone. I shrugged and did as he directed. The foyer to the building was not nearly as grand as Mara's summer home, not even close. An extra wide stairway, built out of white marble, extended from the hallway down to a floor with a crucified mosaic Jesus decorating it. Two opposite hallways split off just inside the doorway. The double doors where obviously made of wood, probably for simplicity, but still painted white to match the rest of the building. I exited and was not surprised to see stalls and lights and hear music right outside the door. The street was made of uneven stones, and snow was lightly fluttering down. Night had already begun to creep up, but the festival lights provide more than enough visibility. The lights were comprised of a series of bulbs, ranging in color and made of paper with a candle burning inside. I milled around for a little bit, taste testing things. One stall even had grilled fruits and vegetables, which I enjoyed very much. The music was loud, clear, and vivid, though I couldn't tell if it was live or just being blasted around by speakers. I stopped in front of one the platforms full of dancers to watch while snacking on some chocolate thing when I heard someone calling me.

"Amos, wait up," Mara's voice called. I turned around to see Mara running toward me in her traditional clothes. I had noticed many of the girls and female dancers wearing something similar, but hadn't taken the time to observe it. It was a dress that was colored ruby red. The collar rode up a the neck a bit higher than a regular dress would, but not so that the one wearing it would be choked. It completely covered her upper body, but had no sleeves so her arms were exposed. At about the mid-thigh, the dress broke into wide strips, about eight in total that reminded me of flower petals and extended to the ankles. Every edge of the dress was outlined by gold trim.

"You look great!" I complimented her honestly. Mara grinned and gave a little spin to show off.

"Thank you. Now, can we get something to eat? I'm starving," Mara asked.

"Sure. I found this stall where the guy sells great grilled fruits," I suggested. Mara motioned for me to lead the way and, grabbing her hand, we maneuvered through the crowds to where the stall was. It had a simple canopy and the base was a white box with a grill on top.

"Back for seconds, huh?" the guy behind the stall greeted. He was grilling slices of something shaped like a star.

"You know it," I laughed. The whole atmosphere of the festival was making me feel more relax and cheery, despite the upcoming events. The stall owner gave Mara a mischievous grin.

"And you brought your girlfriend along too," the stall owner observed incorrectly. I dropped Mara's hand as both our faces heated up.

"I am not his girlfriend!" Mara complained quite loudly, turning the nearby heads. To prove her point, she punched me in the shoulder. I glared at her to let her know she had legitimately hurt me.

"Denial, the first sign of young love," the stall owner mused. Ignoring him, I dropped a couple coins on the counter beside his grill.

"Can you just give us our food without the harassment?" I requested. The stall owner let out another hardy laugh, but proceeded to serve us what we wanted. Mara mostly got grilled vegetables, but I felt more adventurous, and tried a slice of the unusual fruit. It was crunchy, having been grilled, but retained a slightly tangy yet sweet taste, that I rather liked. We wandered away from the grilling stall and toured around more stalls. Some of them held games, while others were selling more food or artwork. Some even had performers singing or doing acrobatics. Eventually we ended up in front of one the gaming stalls when Mara spotted something she wanted.

"That, I want it," she pointed to the prize she so desired. The prize was an ornamental box that probably held something inside. It had been painted green and had elegant carving on it. The top had been decorated with silver ribbons and beads. There was a metal latch on it, sealing away the contents it held. The stall owner, a lanky man, gave me a sly grin, knowing Mara was going to try for it.

"Would you like to try for it?" the stall owner offered. Mara gave an eager nod and paid the man a coin. He explained how the game worked. Basically, the player was given a cork gun and had to knock off one of the prizes sitting on the shelves lining the back of the stall. If the player knocked a prize off, they got to keep it. Mara took aim and shot, but missed her mark by a mile.

"That was a waste of money," I muttered as Mara walked over to where I was leaning against a pole.

"Will you try it for me?" Mara begged.

"Only if you pay," I offered. I wasn't going to waste my precious money on a game. I'd rather waste it on food.

"If you were my friend, you'd pay to do it yourself," Mara argued. We bickered for a bit until I finally relented. I paid the fee and took a shot. The cork bounced off one the shelves and flew back to hit me square in the forehead. It left a red welt that was quickly fading. Mara and the stall owner burst into laughter as I rubbed my forehead where I had been hit. Humiliated, I tried again and failed. I kept trying until I was down to my very last coin. I hadn't hit the box even once, or anything else for that matter, but I wouldn't let the stall owner, or the stall, make a fool out of me once more.

"God please help me," I prayed under my breath. The cork was fired and hit the box square on. It tumbled backwards off its shelf, showing I had final been able to claim victory over the stall.

"Here's your prize," the stall owner said, handing me the box. I then in turn gave it to Mara.

"Thank you Amos," she smiled. Opening it, it was revealed to be full of plastic beaded necklaces. Mara dumped all the necklaces onto the counter of the stall and cheerfully went over to a bench to examine her box.

"She only wanted the box," the stall keeper and I said in harmony, with equal disbelief. I joined her, and feeling hungry, fished around in my pocket for some coins. Then I remembered I had spent all my money on the game. Feeling disappointed, I instead turned to fantasize about food while Mara fiddled around with her brand new prize box. I felt myself starting to think about the past wondering if I had ever been to a festival like the one I was at now, and I started to slip into a memory.

* * *

_I was with Uncle Saul and Ruth. I was significantly older, maybe around thirteen. We were at a carnival that had come into Sodom. There were bright electric lights everywhere, and the place had a magical feel to it. Ruth was begging Uncle Saul for more money so she could try out a game where the grand prize was a huge stuffed horse, probably roughly my size._

_ "I've got this," I bragged, eager to show off to my sister who was the better sibling. I paid the game owner with my own personal money and threw the ball as best I could. The object of the game was to get rings around certain colored bottles. The grand prize was to get a ring around the single gold painted bottle, which was the furthest from the throwing position. After several futile tries, I finally let my uncle try. Uncle Saul got it on the first try._

_ "Now give me the horse," Ruth begged. _

_ "Only if you share with Amos," Uncle Saul bargained. Ruth let out a much too exasperated sigh._

_ "Fine," she complained._

_ "I don't want that," I argued, folding my arms in disgust. However, I did feel entitled to carry it the whole night._

* * *

"Here's your reward," Mara announced. My eyes fluttered open to see Mara holding a chocolate ice cream cone in my face. I reluctantly accepted, even though I didn't like chocolate. I was still starving. While we ate, I noticed that Mara no longer had her box with her.

"Where's your box?" I asked. Mara licked her ice cream a few more time before responding.

"Oh, I saw Yalown pass by and asked him to take it to my room for me. He didn't seem too happy about it," Mara explained. It figured though, that she would get someone else to do the labor of carrying it around or taking it back. I was happy to have gotten out of it. We continued to snack for a little bit in silence, listening to the joyous music. I saw Mara had some ice cream on her nose.

"Hold on, you have something on your nose," I said.

"Is it a bug? Get it off!" Mara nearly shrieked.

"Calm down, it's just ice cream," I told her. I licked my finger and wiped it off, causing Mara to blush slightly.

"Don't do that again. At least, not before giving me more of a warning," Mara grumbled. We finished our ice cream and I stood to stretch.

"Ready to go back?" I asked, now willing to go to bed. It was getting late, and a large day was ahead of us.

"No. First we have to dance," Mara demanded, pointing toward the platform where dancers were. The audience members had paired up and also danced, though not with the same grace as the professionals.

"I don't really want to," I complained, half yawning in the process to show I was feeling very sleepy.

"I don't care. If you come to festival, you have to dance," she ordered. I was about to argue that she could just ask someone else to dance with her. She grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me into the mob of dancing festival goers. She put her arms on my shoulders, and looked at me like she was expecting something.

"What?" I questioned.

"Don't you know how to dance?" she asked.

"Not really," I mumbled, embarrassed. While my school had hosted dances, I had never gone, and if I would have, I never would have been able to find a date.

"That figures. Just put your hands on my hips and follow my lead," Mara sighed. I did as she instructed and we began to sway to the music. My first instinct was to focus on the music. It wasn't moving too fast, but managed to come across as cheery and soothing. I glanced around, hoping to take my mind off how sweaty my palms were, and pray like crazy Mara wouldn't notice. I caught sight of the owner from the grilling stall. He saw me too and gave me a thumbs up. My face got red again and I looked away, up toward the sky. The stars were still surprisingly visible despite all the light, though not as bright as in Galilee.

"This isn't so bad," I said under my breath, though I doubted Mara heard me. Suddenly, Mara's grip tightened on my shoulder. I looked back at her, to see her staring at me with her deadly glare. I checked my feet to make sure I wasn't stepping on the ruby red slippers she wore, and I wasn't. I was confused until I felt something sweet against my lips. It wasn't rough, just light enough to be felt. Mara pulled back from the kiss, completely red faced.

"Not a word," she mumbled. I didn't understand why she had kissed me, but it made my heart stir up good, happy feelings. I peered into her eyes, and at the same, her heart. The colors seemed significantly more vivid, and swirled with a much greater speed. The darkness still remained, but at least her heart was becoming more active. We continued our dance without, as Mara had wanted, another word until there was screaming. A sound of what was similar to a shooting bracelet being fired echoed in the air. Mara and I broke our dance and rushed toward the noise.

"What was that?" I shouted above the noise.

"I don't know," Mara replied. A woman ran past and I stopped her to ask what was happening.

"There's a lunatic on the loose and he's armed!" she cried, before running away with much of the crowd.

"Where is he?" came the shouting of a familiar voice. Tobias came barreling down the street, crashed into the side of a building, then stumbled toward me.

"Where is who?" I asked him. I noticed an almost insane look in Tobias's eyes. I could see his heart shifting with confusion and rage- induced insanity.

"You. You. It's all your fault," Tobias shrieked, pointing at me with shaking fingers. Around his wrist he had a shooting bracelet strapped. It occurred to me that it must've been what he was carrying earlier.

"I'm sorry for whatever I did," I apologized, but Tobias didn't seem to hear me. Tears were leaking out of his eyes and slipping down his face.

"Shut up, you traitor. You abandoned us all to be enslaved and die. I escaped, but Lydia is still trapped. She'll be worked to death, and I will lose her," Tobias shrieked. I hadn't thought anyone would actually blame me for what happened. It had been beyond my control, and it wasn't like I had wanted it to happen.

"Okay, just calm down. Maybe we can talk this out," I urged, slowly creeping toward Tobias.

"Amos, I don't think that's a good idea," Mara warned but I waved away her worrying.

"Don't worry. I have this," I reassured her. A thin smile appeared across Tobias's lips. He aimed and the street stones in front of my feet where reduced to rubble. I had to jump back to avoid having my feet pulverized.

"An apology isn't enough to earn my forgiveness. Only the rightful thing that should happen to you is you should be killed," Tobias shrieked.

"I don't want to fight you, but if I must," I warned but Tobias ignored me, firing another round of bullets at a nearby stall, destroying it.

"My stall!" one of the bystanders cried out. I grabbed my necklace and summoned my sword, which grew to full size in my hand immediately as I recited the verse. Pain flared through my hand and arm, but I managed to keep a stony face, eyes locked with Tobias's. As soon as my sword was ready, I swung it around in front of him to show what it could do. Tobias's only reaction was a maniacal laugh.

"Big deal if you have some kind of mystic sword. I have a superior projectile weapon," Tobias bragged, showing off his shooting bracelet. I knew I could beat him with ease, since the bracelet wasn't too terribly accurate it, and Tobias wasn't in the right frame of mind.

"Prepare yourself," I announced, taking a battle stance.

"No, you should prepare yourself for your last breath forever," Tobias laughed, unleashing a barrage of bullets in my direction.

"Get down," I shouted to anyone who was behind me. Mara thankfully hit the ground just in time; everyone else had already run away. I lowered my sword in front of any vital part of my body to protect myself. Most of the bullets either went into the street, buildings, or ricocheted off my sword. Two bullets grazed my shin, making me remember the first time I had received a bullet wound. The grazes weren't nearly as bad as then, but still hurt.

"How are you still standing?" Tobias snarled, now more angry than cheerful. I didn't get a chance to explain before I charged at him, sword brandished. He anticipated my attack. Tobias dodged to the side, and sticking his foot out, tripped me. I tumbled over, trying to avoid skewering myself. My sword skittered just out of reach.

"Seriously," I grumbled, climbing to my knees, ignoring the pain of scratches and bruises. I tried to reach for my sword when I felt a sharp blow to my side. Tobias kicked me right in the ribs. I collapsed while he rolled me over with his foot.

"How the mighty have fallen," Tobias gloated, aiming his bracelet straight at my exposed chest.

"Leave him alone," I heard Mara cry and Tobias's neck snapped forward. He turned around to face Mara, the back of his head oozing blood. Mara must've thrown a piece of street rubble, I surmised. Mara screamed as Tobias snarled and began to stalk toward her. She tried to back up real quick, but ended up tripping. I pushed off with my feet and was able to reach my sword. I swung it and it managed to cut a gash in Tobias's calf. Tobias let out a howl of pain and refocused on me. At least for the time being Mara was out of danger.

"It's me you want, not the girl," I said, using my sword to help myself to my feet. Tobias stumbled toward me, limping but still not out of commission.

"You're right. First you, then the girl," Tobias agreed. He tried to shoot me, but the bracelet only made a clicking sound, trying to fire something that wasn't there. It was my turn to laugh in his face.

"Out of bullets. Now how you going to kill me?" I taunted. Angrily, Tobias removed his bracelet. He shook it a couple times to ensure that it was truly empty before discarding it to the side.

"I don't need such weak weapons to kill you," Tobias countered. He rushed me, but I got inside his guard and hit him in the stomach with the flat of my blade. He doubled over, making it easy for me to bring the butt of the sword up to knock him in the head. Tobias stumbled backwards and fell over the remnants of a wrecked stall. He laid there unmoving, except for the gentle rising and falling of his chest, signaling he was unconscious but alive.

"You won," Mara cheered. I should have been happy. I had succeeded in subduing without killing him. However, I instead collapsed to my knees.

"Just barely," I breathed. Festival participants had started to wander, gawking at the battlefield and the carnage caused by the fight. Mara ran over to me.

"Are you okay?" she asked, feeling my forehead.

"I feel sleepy, maybe a little woozy," I mumbled, falling over to my side. Unfortunately, it was the side where Tobias had kicked me, so pain raced through my body like arcs of lightning.

"Help, we need help. Bring a healer," I heard Mara shouting before my vision faded to black.


	10. Chapter 10

Here's the next chapter. Please read and review, thanks.

* * *

Chapter X

"Amos, wake up!" Yalown banged on the door with such force it threatened to fall off its hinges. I cracked open my eyes but all I could see was sunlight filtering through the white sheets. I pulled them tighter around me as I attempted to ignore Yalown.

"Just let me sleep," I argued, although in vain. I heard Yalown opened the door angrily.

"Don't give me that. We have to leave today," Yalown shouted before slamming the door shut, causing my bed to quiver slightly. I finally pulled the sheets down and stared up toward the ceiling, recalling the previous night's events. My body felt completely refreshed despite the brutal fight, meaning a healer had assisted. My mind then immediately leapt to when Mara had kissed me, and my face began to heat up. Fortunately, my stomach growled, distracting me away from the embarrassing memory. I climbed out of bed to find out I was wearing flannel pajamas. My normal clothes had been cleaned, neatly folded, and placed upon the dresser. I changed slowly, taking the time to examine myself for bruises or scratches, which I found none of thankfully. Finished changing, I wandered over the balcony to examine the city. Snow had fallen overnight, resulting in every building being covered in a thin layer of powder. Sunlight reflected off all of it, creating dazzling sparkles across the entire city. People were going around, picking up trash or disassembling stalls. I even caught sight of the guy from the grilled fruits cart. The edge of the city had a low enough wall that the tops of bare trees were just visible.

"The city is quite beautiful, is it not?" asked a familiar voice behind me. I whirled around to see the Pope coming into my room, carrying a small tray loaded with various breakfast pastries and two cups of piping hot coffee.

"Your Holiness!" I said with surprise. The Pope gave a light laugh and set the tray down.

"Please, call me John," the Pope requested.

"Of course," I complied. I kept stealing longing glances at the food the Pope had brought along.

"Go ahead and have some. After your battle last night, I can imagine you must be famished," the Pope offered. I eagerly took up his offer and began to snack on a bagel. After that, I downed one of the cups of coffee. It was unsweetened and extremely bitter, but it sent shockwaves through my body, fully waking me up. The Pope just quietly watched me eat from where he stood at the edge of my bed.

"What are you doing here?" I finally asked, no longer starving.

"No reason, simply seeking inspiration from God as to what to talk about at Mass this coming Sunday," the Pope explained before stepping out onto the balcony.

"Shouldn't a pastor or something be doing that?" I asked, following the Pope.

"Vatican State isn't as beautiful as the original Vatican City. Unfortunately, it was ransacked and destroyed during the Holy Wars. It was only by the grace of God we were able to rebuild it at a fraction of its former glory. I remember seeing pictures of the original back in my childhood," the Pope lectured, seeming to either have forgotten or not heard my question. I had heard something similar in history class, but it seemed so much sadder coming from the Pope.

"So about my question?" I prompted.

"My dear boy, I am not the ruler of the Catholic Empire. At least, as far as I know I am not. I am merely here to provide people guidance," the Pope said.

"But don't you have the Gift of Leadership? You should be emperor!" I argued, to which the Pope's response was another light laugh.

"Leadership comes naturally with age, but it is not my true gift. Honestly, it's a shame you hadn't been able to train with Elder Bathsheba longer," the Pope said.

"You knew her?" I questioned.

"Yes, I did. We met on many occasions. Anyway, my gift is the Gift of Preaching, the ability to communicate God's word both clearly and easily," the Pope explained. I had never known very many people with that gift, except the pastor back from my home town. It made much sense, though, considering how spiritual the Pope was.

"So what happened to Tobias?" I asked, curious what had become of my friend. A shadow passed over the Pope's face.

"We are having our healers do their best to cure his unstable emotional conditions. He should be fine and ready to fight by tomorrow," the Pope said. It was a relief to hear that. That meant I might be able to avoid Tobias since I'd be going to Jericho today and at best he'd be arriving tomorrow. I finished another doughnut and decided I should probably be going to find Yalown or Mara.

"One last thing. Could you take me to Mara or Yalown?" I requested.

"Happily. I do believe they are at the Warehouse, which is where the Catholic Empire stores most of its weapons," the Pope said. We cleaned up and he led me to the front door. The Pope instructed me as to where to go to find the Warehouse, and I thanked him and waved good-bye before running down the street to find the building. After a couple wrong turns and dead ends, I finally found the Warehouse at the edge of the city. It was a low rectangular building, surrounded by a laser electric fence. The walls of the building looked completely smooth, with no sign of any windows. There was a single garage door as the only way in or out of the Warehouse. Two guards stood at the only entrance, which was a basic metal gate.

"What do you want kid?" one of the guards snapped. They were dressed in the same uniforms and equipment as other Catholic soldiers except the uniforms were white to fit in with the city.

"Is Yalown inside?" I asked.

"Address him as Supreme General Yalown," the other guard argued.

"Yeah, fine. Is Supreme General Yalown inside? I'm in a rush," I snapped back, just to show my urgency.

"Use less sarcasm next time, but you can enter," the first guard said begrudgingly, pushing the gate open. I ran inside through a door next to the garage door and was surprised to see how many weapons filled the grey and dimly lit Warehouse, making it resemble a museum of sorts. Along one wall were older guns and swords, some that were rusty and others that looked brand new. Various old military tanks and levias crowded inside, forming aisles to walk through. I wandered around and found Mara and Yalown searching among boxes filled with more modern weapons. Yalown noticed my presence first.

"Ah, Amos. You're looking well," Yalown greeted me. He still wore his uniform, which was now gray to match the interior of the Warehouse. Mara had changed back into her white robe.

"It's about time you joined us," she mumbled, without even looking up. I couldn't tell if she was mad.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked her, but Yalown answered instead.

"Since we are headed for the walls of Jericho this afternoon, I thought it would be appropriate to find Mara a weapon," Yalown explained. I looked at Mara, who nodded in agreement with Yalown, but still refused to look at me.

"What about me?" I asked.

"You have your mystical sword, and from what I've heard, you're fairly adept at wielding it," Yalown said, meaning I wouldn't get some fancy weapon from the Warehouse.

"Fair enough. Let's get looking," I agreed, and kneeled down to keep looking through boxes. They were filled mostly with projectile bracelets, but they were too large to fit around my wrist, let alone Mara's.

"Found it!" Yalown announced after about twenty minutes, holding up a bracelet smaller than the rest.

"Try it on," Mara ordered, holding up her right arm and supporting it with the other. Yalown strapped it around her wrist and double checked it to make sure it was the right size.

"Give it a try," Yalown urged. Mara released her support and her arm swung down to her side like a dead weight. She struggled to pick it up, but the longer she tried, the more her effort became visible. Beads of sweat dotted her head, and she seemed to start to develop a hunch.

"It's too heavy," she finally confirmed, and Yalown undid the bracelet from her wrist. Mara began to rub a visible red mark on her wrist while Yalown threw the bracelet back into its box.

"What now?" I asked.

"I don't know. That's the smallest and lightest bracelet we have, and I can't think of any lighter weapons," Yalown sighed. I turned to leave, but my foot caught an unopened box. I caught myself before tumbling to the floor. However, the box tipped over, spilling its contents. I bent down to examine whatever had been inside. It had spilled little black objects that looked like rings. I put one on my ring finger, and it immediately contracted to comfortably fit my finger. I ran my finger around it, and found a small hump protruding from it.

"Hey, how about this?" I suggested, holding out my hand to show off the ring. Yalown examined it closer, and his eyes lit up.

"Of course. I forgot all about these. They fire a single small shot that does as much damage as a bee sting, but it releases a devastating flash that is enough to blind a person for a few minutes to allow for escape. Soldiers used to use them, but they were put away after a while," Yalown explained, straightening himself up.

"In other words, perfect for me," Mara summarized. Yalown nodded happily, and fitted one on to her finger.

"How do you fire it?" I asked.

"Just push down on the hump and it should fire. It's important to remember though that it only has one shot," Yalown instructed. I did as he said, and the ring fired. The projectile whistled through the air and collided with an old levia. The room became brightly illuminated for a few moments before returning to it's normal dimness. Unfortunately, the ring had some kick, and the recoil caused me to stumble back a couple steps. The ring then reverted back to its normal size and slid off my hand.

"Impressive," Mara commented. I agreed completely, though I didn't say it. Yalown then ushered us outside, saluting the guards on the way out.

"So are when are we going?" I asked as we walked away from Warehouse, wandering toward an empty lot.

"Right now actually," Yalown grinned. Now that we were outside the Warehouse, his uniform had turned white. He pulled out a black pad which had a row of red buttons on it. He pushed the first on, and I instantly heard the distinct roar of an engine. A sonic boom soon followed and the sun was blocked. Descending from the sky came the sleekest looking levia ever. It had sharply pointed cone front that flattened out as the body extended backwards. The propulsion system contained two blue glowing hexagonal pads underneath it.

"This is yours?" I said in disbelief as it landed in the lot.

"You like it? It's the newest model of military levias, called the Mach Impact. It's the fastest of its kind," Yalown said proudly. We climbed into the cabin which consisted of a single column of about seven seats. I took the seat right behind the drivers, which is where Yalown sat. Mara, however, sat all the way in the back, like she was purposely trying to avoid me. I looked back her, but instead of receiving a menacing glare, she turned her head away. I sighed and began to wonder what I had done wrong. As the Mach Impact was being driven toward our destination, Yalown began telling me about all the mechanics of his levia, which I understood for the most part since Uncle Saul had often talked about similar things. I began to remember such times, and Yalown's lecture blurred away as I began to remember.

* * *

_"Uncle Saul, why did you become a mechanic when you have such an awesome gift?" I asked Uncle Saul. I had long had the question on my mind, but it had taken me up until I was about to enter high school to gather the courage to ask. Uncle Saul looked up from his reading tablet at the kitchen table. _

_ "It's a long story," Uncle Saul warned._

_ "We have time," I countered. Uncle Saul laughed and removed his reading glasses. _

_ "Clever argument. Very well, I shall explain," Uncle Saul consented. We went into the living room, where he sat down opposite to me._

_ "Go ahead," I urged. _

_ "Back when I was around your age, I discovered my gift. Now, it wasn't much of a surprise that it was the Gift of Prophecy, since it had been in our family for generations. The offer to study at the House of Prophets arrived quickly. Your grandparents told me that I wasn't obligated to go, that it was all my choice. That night, I prayed with all my might to God. He sent me a vision of me working in as a mechanic. The next day, I discovered I loved working with my hands on such __stuff,__ and because of that I rejected the House of Prophets'__s__ offer," Uncle Saul narrated. The story didn't satisfy me, and I still wondered why he'd chosen to be a mechanic. However, from that point on, he began teaching me everything he knew about levias and various other machines._

* * *

"We have arrived!" Yalown announced, ripping me from my memory. I glanced out and was awestruck by the wall of Jericho. It was so high that it extended above the cloud line, much too high for any levia to fly over. The wall was made of brown bricks that were each the size of a standard house. I could make out sliding doors that were probably open when the city wasn't about to be under siege to allow levias in and out of the city. These doors where about the height of six or seven levias, but seemed small compared to the enormity of the wall. It was impossible to imagine how long the wall had taken to build.

"It's huge," I breathed. I glanced back to see if Mara was wearing a similar expression of awe, but she was sound asleep.

"Wake her up, will you?" Yalown requested, for which I was hesitant to agree to. I didn't think it was the brightest idea to wake up somebody who was potentially mad at me. I crawled over the seats until I reached her, and then gently shook her awake. Mara eyes opened just enough to be able to see, but once she realized it was me who awakened her, her eyes flew open like window blinds. She shoved me away, causing my body to thud against the previous seat.

"Get away from me," she snapped. I scrambled away, back toward the front, grumbling about the moodiness of girls. We finally landed and were allowed to climb out to stretch. The ground felt familiar. The same stubby and course grass I had slept on so recently was again beneath my feet. A winter wind whipped around us, threatening to rip our clothes off and carry them far away. Around the base of the wall, soldiers in tan uniforms were setting up large tents made of a white fabric next to parked levias. The tents didn't seem sturdy enough to stand up to a light breeze, but the ones that were already standing wavered in the strong wind. Yalown led us to the largest of the standing tents and invited us inside. After stepping through the entrance flap, I surveyed the interior. It was tall enough that I could stand up straight with about two or three feet of room between the top of my head and the ceiling. Out of the wind, the tent was also noticeably warmer. The tent had nothing but the bare ground for a floor. There was a series of cots along one side, and on the other was a long table that held eight Sonic Blasters. A woman in her late twenties was checking readings on each of the Sonic Blasters. She wore a uniform like the rest of the soldiers, but not strapped on canons. She had dark, intense eyes and her red hair was pulled into a bun.

"How are the Sonic Blasters looking?" Yalown asked her. The woman turned and gave the Supreme General a smile.

"They'll be fully charged and ready to fire by mid-day tomorrow," the woman said. Yalown remembered that Mara and I were there, and focused back on us.

"I'd like to introduce the head of the Catholic Empire's Military Science Department, Eve," Yalown introduced us. Eve eagerly shook our hands.

"I've heard much about you two," she told us. After our introductions, Eve and Yalown began discussing different readings on the Sonic Blasters, so I dismissed myself. Once back outside, I began to walk for the wall, which seemed like the best place to be alone. When I finally reached it, I ran my hand alongside as I paced beside it.

"What am I suppose to do? Ask her?" I complained aloud. Not surprisingly, I received an answer.

_Yes. _The Voice echoed inside my head. I couldn't tell if it was because my predetermined fate was coming closer, but the Holy Spirit inside me was sounding much stronger. I didn't like the answer, but I knew He was right. I was turning back to go back to talk with Mara when I noticed a dust cloud rising in the distance.

"It couldn't be," I murmured, but despite that, I took off running in that direction. It wasn't until they were practically on top of me that I could properly recognize the Evangelics, with Malachi riding at the front with his daughters not far behind. Before his horse had even stopped completely, Malachi leapt off with a crazy grin.

"Amos, it's good to see you again," Malachi greeted me along with a vigorous handshake. It was a surprise to see him, but I was happy with it all the same. Malachi looked completely unchanged; even his clothes hadn't been altered. I was about to say something when Malachi noticed someone behind me. I adjusted myself so I could see Mara and Yalown striding toward us.

"Mara! Yalown! Hello!" Malachi cheered, waving to them. By the time they had reached us, the rest of the Evangelics had dismounted and Sapphira had joined her father.

"What are you Evangelics doing here?" Mara growled.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Malachi asked with a laugh, which just made Mara angrier.

"Father, leave her alone," Sapphira defended Mara, whom she then gave a smile.

"Mara does have a point. What are you doing here?" Yalown asked.

"I heard the Catholic Empire was going to attempt to invade Jericho and figured Amos would be here too. So we came to see if my theory was correct," Malachi explained.

"So are you just going to sit back and watch the battle?" Mara snapped.

"Of course not. We are here to fight as well," Malachi announced. Mara was taken aback by this, but Yalown looked pleased.

"That's good. This means we'll have even more of a numerical advantage," Yalown calculated.

"Exactly. Now do you guys want to help us set up our camp?" Malachi asked. By the time we had finished, it was already getting dark and the rainbow campfire was burning. The Evangelics graciously cooked dinner for the entire Catholic army. After the satisfying meal, the Evangelics began their daily worship much to the soldier's and my own delight. It wan't long before a fair number had joined in the dancing. I was about to join as well when I saw Mara sitting by herself, like the first time we had been with the Evangelics. I figured she was still fuming that they had showed up, but I went over to check on her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked. Mara looked up and the angry look on her face intensified. She was sitting so far back from the fire that the fire's heat couldn't be felt anymore. I was forced to sit down next to her in an effort to conserve body heat. She scooted away, but I finally got the death glare that I had surprisingly missed.

"Nothing. Now go away," Mara grumbled. I ignored her and slid closer to her.

"What's wrong with you today? You keep trying to get away from me," I observed.

"It's your fault I'm like this," Mara retorted, surprising me. I tried to mentally run through what I had done since the festival but couldn't think of anything.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, feeling angry that she was accusing me for her bad mood. Mara blushed and began fidgeting her hands.

"You made my guard go down at the festival. Then I ki-... ki-..." Mara stammered, trying to choke the word out.

"Kissed me?" I offered.

"Yes!" Mara exclaimed. It took a moment for me to process, but once I did, my face heated up, partially from embarrassment and partially from anger.

"Really? That's what this all about?" I snapped back.

"Of course! Why? Didn't it mean anything to you?" Mara growled. Truth was, it had meant a lot. It was the first time I had ever been any kind of intimate with a girl. We sat there in silence, watching the soldiers and Evangelics worship.

"How about we worry about this after the battle and be friends?" I suggested, standing up. I offered my hand to Mara, and after considering it, Mara nodded and took it. I helped her to her feet and we went over to join in the worship.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter XI

The whistling wind awakened me up the next morning. I scanned my surroundings and realized I was inside Malachi's home. He must have brought me in once I had fallen asleep during the previous night's worship. I climbed off my sleeping pad and stumbled outside. The sun was just peaking over the horizon, almost hidden by a cloudy sky, and action within the camp was minimal. Suddenly, I heard shouting and saw Malachi. He was hacking away at a small log with a piece of paper tacked onto it with a sword. The paper had a drawing of smiley face. As I watched, Malachi swung his sword and cut the log cleanly in half. He wiped the sweat from his forehead before he noticed.

"You're up early," Malachi greeted, waving to me. I jogged over to where he was.

"What are you up to?" I grumbled, doing the best to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"Just doing some warm-ups before the battle," Malachi laughed, showing me his sword. At the mention of the battle, my stomach immediately felt queasy. I had completely forgotten that the time of prophecy was almost upon me. I ignored the anxiety and took the opportunity to examine Malachi's sword.

"It's quite different," I noted. Instead of being straight like mine, the blade of his sword curved like the crescent moon. The grip was simple brown leather, with some tassels at the end, effectively making it a single handed sword.

"When compared to yours, I would agree. However, it is the traditional weapon of the Evangelics. Anyway, how about a quick sparring match, with our real swords?" Malachi suggested. It took me a moment to realize what he had asked.

"Are you sure? I'm pretty good," I bragged.

"I would hope so, but I'll take my chances," Malachi laughed. We distanced ourselves and took our stances. I pulled my necklace off and repeated the verse necessary. The sword flared to life in my hand, but the pain was even less than before. I didn't know whether it was because I was becoming used to it, or if the transformation was just decreasing in intensity. I rushed Malachi first, eager to show off my abilities. He dodged my first swing and then used his sword to block my next. He tried to slide his sword in right next to my rib cage, but I swung my sword to knock it away.

"How am I doing?" I asked my former teacher.

"You're doing even better than when we parted ways, but I won't admit defeat that easy," Malachi commented. I sidestepped Malachi, the flat of my blade trailing just beside me to nail him in the stomach, but he spun out of the way. He made a jab at my leg but I jumped up. I came down on top of his sword, trapping the blade between the ground and my feet. Malachi continued to hang onto his sword, struggling to free it. I swung my sword so it would come down between Malachi's shoulder and collar bone when I was hit with a sudden wave of nausea. I doubled over in sickness, throwing me off balance in the process. Malachi flicked his sword up, freeing it and causing me to stumble backwards. I landed hard on my butt. Malachi swung his sword at me, which I tried to block with my sword. He used the curve of his blade to hook the underneath of my sword's guard and pulled upwards. My sword was flung from hands and out of reach. Malachi lowered his sword it rested on my chest. I raised my hands in surrender.

"Morning! Good for you guys, getting in some early morning practice," Yalown announced his arrival while approaching toward us, carrying a plate loaded with bacon and eggs. Malachi helped me to my feet just as Yalown reached us.

"You alright? You were winning until you suddenly doubled over," Malachi observed.

"Yeah, I think I'll be okay. I just felt sick to my stomach for a moment," I said. Yalown gave me a slap on the back, which didn't help my stomach much.

"Don't worry. Just pre-battle jitters. Here, eat," Yalown diagnosed before handing me a piece of bacon. I managed to eat it, and even though it tasted excellent, my stomach still gurgled in protest.

"Thanks," I managed.

"No problem. Mara was looking for you. She spent the night in Eve's tent," Yalown told me.

"I'll go meet up with her in a little. Now, if you'll excuse me," I said, going to retrieve my sword, which had by then shrunken back into a necklace. I slipped it around my neck and started back into Malachi's dome when I overheard Malachi and Yalown conversing.

"Malachi, we need to talk," Yalown said as they started to retreat back toward the main camp. That was all I got to hear because they were quickly out of earshot. I went back to my bed pad and knelt to pray. I took off my necklace and held it in my folded hands.

"Father God, please tell me. What is wrong with me? Why am I suddenly feeling sick?" I prayed and begged. My pleas grew silent as I waited for an answer, but not even the Voice spoke up. I waited a little bit longer before giving up. All I knew was Yalown had been wrong, but I still had no idea why I wasn't feeling well. I would just have to deal with it. I exited the dome the second time that morning to see the entire camp now in full swing. The smells of fresh fires burning was in the air as I started toward the camp. All around soldiers were cooking breakfast or coming out of their tents with a sleepy look on their faces. I finally found Eve's tent, and upon entering, found Mara and Eve checking all the Sonic Blasters before they would be needed.

"Good, more help. Get over here and pick this thing up," Eve ordered. Her hair was a complete mess. Before I could even so much as utter a greeting, I obeyed, and grunted as I lifted up the weapon. It was significantly heavier than it would have appeared. Eve checked something on the bottom of it and signaled for me to move onto the next one.

"What's the big rush?" I asked.

"They are ready sooner than expected. If they aren't fired soon, they'll explode," Eve warned. We finished all the checks before anything else was said.

"Does Yalown know?" I asked.

"He was the first besides me. He should be making his speech soon, and then we'll be ready for the invasion," Eve explained. Suddenly, the sound of multiple trumpets pierced the air.

"That's our cue. We should probably get out there," Mara suggested. Eve nodded in agreement.

"That is a good idea. Yalown's speeches can be rather awe-inspiring." Eve encouraged us, and turned back to do a quick second check on the Sonic Blasters. As we were parted ways out the exit, Mara turned back to say something.

"Thank you for the talk," Mara said to Eve, who then gave her a smile.

"It wasn't a problem. I wish you the best of luck," Eve said. Ominous- looking dark grey clouds blotted the sky. As We followed the streams of soldiers toward where ever Yalown was having his speech, I gave Mara a puzzled look.

"What?" she demanded.

"What was your talk about?" I asked.

"None of your business," Mara snapped. We had to stop our conversation there, because we had reached where Yalown would be talking. It was a small wooden platform, just tall enough for him to be elevated above everyone. Yalown stepped up on the said platform and all the soldiers erupted in cheers. Yalown raised his hand for quiet, which fell almost immediately.

"First, I want to thank you all for coming together, to fight as comrades, to add yet more territory to the Catholic Empire. But how do I know we will be successful today? For the Lord our God has declared it, in His very Word, the Bible. For it is written, 'and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Deuteronomy 7:2.' As such, we will be successful. Let us bring honor to God and our nation!" Yalown declared. He was reward with a deafening roar of the cheering soldiers. As everyone disassembled, I caught sight of Tobias talking with some veterans. I quickly hid behind Mara, who wasn't happy that I did that. She grabbed my hair and dragged me into the open.

"Don't act like you're five years old. Face him like a man," Mara scolded. Tobias turned his head and saw me. I tried to hide behind Mara again, but she wouldn't let me. I really didn't want to get in another fight, especially right before we went to war and when I wasn't feeling very well. Instead of yelling and out right cursing me, Tobias just smiled and waved, like nothing had happened just a few days prior. I guessed the healers had been successful.

"Everyone, be in formation in ten minutes," Yalown announced. The lingering soldiers then ran off to tell everyone else.

"Formation?" I asked to no one in particular. I felt a hand clasp on my shoulder.

"You two will just stick with me," Yalown ordered. He guided us until we reached a clear area where troops began to organize themselves in front of the wall. They organized themselves into a vaguely hourglass shape. Eight soldiers, each carrying a Sonic Blaster, spaced themselves evenly among the frontline. I saw Eve at the edge of the camp, holding a megaphone. Yalown placed us in the third line before taking up his position in the front line.

"On my mark," Eve shouted through her megaphone, which echoed all across the army. We waited several moments until I was suffering from pure anxiety, my head felt light and my palms sweaty.

"Fire!" Yalown bellowed before Eve could give her order, earning him a dirty look from her. Nonetheless, the Sonic Blasters fired off, unleashing so much power that one could literally see the sound waves. The wall vibrated for a moment like a tuning fork, but that's all that happened.

"What the heck?" Mara asked angrily. I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe my destiny wasn't truly supposed to happen today. Just as I finished that thought, a thunderous roar washed over the entire army, which was the direct result of the wall collapsing. An avalanche of wall fragment came raining down, and the army slowly stepped back to avoid it. Soon, there was a gaping hole easily wide enough for the entire army to move through while still maintaining formation.

"Troops, advanced," Yalown shouted. We trodded forward, half expecting the Imperial Army to attack with each step. The city was hidden behind the pile of debris, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw once I climbed the pile. I stopped short in amazement.

"Hey kid, keep moving," the soldier behind me grumbled. I apologized and scrambled down the other side of the pile. The city had streets made of colorful marble, polished smooth, but that wasn't what had caught my eye first. It had been the buildings. All the buildings were varying heights, ranging from silver to gold to copper in color. Each floor was disc- shaped and connected to the next floor by thin stems. It was a miracle of engineering that the buildings managed to stand up. As I gawked at the architecture, Mara pointed something out.

"Where is everyone?" she asked. She was right. Since this was a city, the streets and sidewalks should have been flooded with people and levias. However, there was absolutely no one.

"Troops, continue advance," Yalown shouted, ignoring the obvious issue. We marched for several blocks until another march was began to be heard. Yalown raised his hand and the entire army came to a quick halt. I nearly ran into the person in front of me, but Mara caught my shoulder and pulled me upright. Before I properly thanked her, the Imperial Army appeared over a hill. They were dressed in their normal uniforms, except they wore solid metal boots, which clinked off the marble streets. They marched in perfect straight columns. I scanned the front row, expecting to see Commander Joel leading his army, since he was addicted to warfare. However, I was pleasantly disappointed, because the entire front line wore black uniforms. The Imperial Army stopped about fifty yards away from us. They spread their legs shoulder width apart and raised their arms.

"Began fire," a command rang through the Imperial Army. It took Yalown only moments to realize to what that meant.

"Break formation," he ordered. The Imperial Army began to pepper the ground with a barrage of bullets. I grabbed Mara's hand and we ducked toward the back of the formations. The air became filled with the screams of soldiers being struck down by bullets. One such soldier collapsed, his neck a bloody mess. I was tempted to stop and help, but we kept running. Once we were out of range, I turned back to watch. Several soldiers were taking shelter behind buildings,and firing blasts from their shoulder cannons. Shouts came from the Imperial Army whenever one such blast landed, launching enemy soldiers into the air like toys. The front line held firm, firing their bracelets and cannon simultaneously. Yalown's face was pulled into a tight grimace, and his eyes were full of intense focus. Suddenly, soldiers broke out of the Imperial Army, wielding short swords. The swords were made of a dull metal, but veins of green laced throughout them. These swordsmen began stabbing nearby Catholic soldiers, and every time the swords touched flesh, arcs of electricity streaked out and coursed down the victim's body. The front line disassembled fast, until Yalown was the only one still standing in formation.

"Evangelics, assist them," Malachi called out from the back of the army and Evangelic men came racing through the army, wielding their odd swords. They engaged the Imperial swordsmen, but they were still outnumbered. One almost managed to stab Yalown, but Malachi wove in between the two and drove his sword straight into the enemy's heart. Malachi kicked the man off his sword, who fell down clearly dead, and gave Yalown a thumbs up, who acknowledged him with a nod. I decided then would be a good time to join the battle. I summoned my sword and its bright flash caused the entire Imperial Army to take a nervous step back. They recognized me, and it made me feel good. However, as I rushed into battle, a knot formed in my gut. I engaged a swordsmen who had been about to kill a Catholic soldier. Electricity flew as our swords met. He was not a good fighter, and I was easily able to disarm him, but still the knot tightened. He was at my mercy, and an easy thrust would have ended his life. I nearly lost my lunch at that point, so instead, I slammed the flat of my blade in his helmet. It rattled, and the man crumbled to his feet. I looked around for another opponent, despite feeling sick, when I saw an arm reach out from an alley and grab Mara, dragging her into the darkness. Catholic soldiers saw nothing, as they had started to fight more Imperial Army soldiers as they flooded in from intersecting streets.

"Mara," I cried out, and started to run toward the alley. I then remembered the battle, and turned back to the main fight, but Yalown waved for me to go. Apparently, he had seen it too.

"Go. Fulfill the prophecy, and your God- given destiny, and return to us safe. We'll handle the battle from here on out," Yalown ordered. I didn't hesitate at his command, and ran to save Mara. I saw Malachi run through one of the Imperial Army men's shoulder with his sword, then proceeded to knock the man's light out with his free hand. Malachi saw me and gave me an encouraging smile. I ran into the alley, brandishing my sword.

"Release Mara, or prepare to die," I threatened, though I doubt I could kill someone without vomiting. The alley blocked out what little sunlight streamed through the storm clouds, leaving the alley dark and gloomy. The sounds of battle echoed through the alley, but it sounded foreign and far away. An Imperial soldier emerged from the gloom, holding Mara against his chest.

"Please, peace. I just want to talk," the kidnapper begged. I hesitantly lowered my sword as Mara was released. Mara joined me at my side.

"Okay, go ahead," I said. The kidnapper removed the helmet to reveal that she was a girl. She had bright blue eyes and a blond hair, similar to Commander Joel's, pulled back in a ponytail.

"My name is Saray, and you are the person of the Deadly Prophecy, no?" the girl asked.

"The Deadly Prophecy?" I responded, confused.

"She means the prophecy about the person with the Gift of Mercy ending the King's rule. That's what the people of the city call it," Mara explained. Saray approved her explanation with a nod.

"As far as I know I am," I was able to answer now that I understood what had been meant.

"Well, I completely agree with what you must do. The King is nothing more than a tyrant now. Plus, I feel like God is telling me that I should lead you to the castle," Saray said.

"Really? You can do that, safely?" Mara asked.

"Yes. I know all the movements and positions of the units patrolling the city. We can get there, and completely avoid any fighting," Saray explained. That sounded pretty good to me, since it made my nausea settle down a bit. I began to wonder if my nausea was being caused by my own gift. It made sense. A person with the Gift of Mercy should be against any kind of battle, no matter how justified. They would just forgive every person. That suddenly reminded me of something, and memories flooded my head.

_I was young again, living with my parents. I had been chasing my sister around the room in a game of tag. We were screaming and having a generally good time. I made a sharp turn around a table and managed to grab Ruth's shirt, but at the same time my arm caught my mom's favorite decoration, a glass bluebird. The glass bird went flying into the air and shattered against the floor. Ruth sucked in a lot of air, like what a little kid does when they know someone else is in trouble._

_"__Mommy is going to be really mad. She'll never forgive you," Ruth taunted before running off to tattle. I panicked and tried to shove the evidence underneath the couch. Just then my mom walked in._

_"__What happened?" my mom asked._

_"__I'm sorry. It was an accident. Now you're going to hate me," I bawled. My mom knelt down and pulled me into a hug. _

_"__I can't hate you, you are my child. Besides, I'm forced to forgive everyone because of my gift," my mom laughed._

_"__What gift?" I asked._

"Do you trust her?" Mara whispered, interrupting my memory before I remembered what my mom said next. I decided it was our best chance to get to the castle safely.

"Yeah. Please lead on," I motioned to Saray to take us. Saray's face lit up in a smile and took off down the alley. We jogged after her, doing our best to keep her in sight. When we reached an intersection, Saray raised her hand to stop us. A unit of Imperial Army soldiers marched by, their vision trained straight ahead. If any of them had looked our way, we would've been in a lot of trouble. Fortunately, we were safe. We raced through the streets. Saray did her best to keep us in alleys and narrow back streets. We were on one of those backstreets before we actually said something again.

"Where is everyone?" Mara asked, repeating her question from earlier.

"The King evacuated all civilians once he learned of the invasion," Saray said.

"Did he leave too?" I asked, hoping he did. Then again, why would Saray be leading us to him if he had.

"Unfortunately, no. He's arrogant enough to believe that New Canaan will win this battle, and that he is safe with in his castle," Saray said. I didn't want to hear that, but Mara was equally, if not more, upset at hearing that.

"Arrogant. That's an excellent way to describe the King," Mara grumbled. I wondered again for the hundredth time what her connection to the King was. We continued our walk in silence until we heard voices.

"Quick, climb up that building," Saray ordered, slipping her helmet on, which she had been carrying under her arm the whole time. I stashed my sword around the corner before giving Mara a boost up onto the top of the first floor of a cooper -colored building. She helped me up, and we scooted away from the edge. The voices got closer until they stopped in front of our hiding spot.

"Soldier, what are you doing away from the battle?" a gruff voice asked Saray.

"I was ordered to do some surveying. It turns out the one of the Deadly Prophecy has disappeared from the main battle," Saray reported. The gruff voice made some hushed comments to his fellow comrades.

"Very well. Carry on," the gruff voice told Saray. The men continued talking. Mara and I remained hidden until the voices had faded away.

"All clear," Saray called up to us. We climbed down, and went to retrieve my sword, but it had shrunken back into a necklace. I put it around my necklace. We continued our journey toward the King's castle.

"Are we almost there?" I asked eventually. My anxiety had been building to critical levels.

"Just over the top of this hill," Saray grinned. She wasn't lying, because at the top of the hill, I got my first glimpse of the King's castle.


End file.
